Aquarela

The choice of paired locations for Kossakovsky’s ¡Vivan las Antípodas! (2011) was limited by the simple fact that the vast majority of the Earth is covered by water. For his equally epic Aquarela (the second part of what became his ‘A-trilogy’), the filmmaker once again traveled around the world to capture this fundamental element of nature in all its manifestations.

From raging seas to tranquil streams; from melting ice caps to the tallest waterfall in the world: Kossakovsky captures it all in breathtaking scenes—scenes that, combined with the symphonic metal of Finnish band Apocalyptica, make for an overwhelming sensory experience.

The succession of sequences showing crumbling glaciers and churning masses of water is both awe-inspiring and unsettling—above all else, Aquarela spotlights humanity’s fragility in the face of this elemental force. Ecstasy and inspiration go hand in hand with destruction and suffering. As Kossakovsky himself says: “Through the lens of water, you are able to experience all known human emotion.”