Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea

Finally a perfect candidate for my "Films with Something to Say" Category. Thank you indie filmmakers Chris Metzler and Jeff Springer!

Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea is a documentary narrated by John Waters which follows the history and the collapse of Southern California's environmentally disasterous Salton Sea. The film is entertaining in a scary way, as it lets locals (who have been living in the area for decades, yes and still live there) tell their story.

The Salton Sea, which originally was created to be a vacationer's paradise is now called "one of America’s worst ecological disasters: a fetid, stagnant, salty lake, coughing up dead fish and birds by the thousands. " So, please take my advice and dont watch this movie while eating lunch. The film does a really outstanding job of explaining in an engaging and rarely dry fashion (don't you like my body of water allusion?) how exactly the Salton Sea came into existence and how it gradually became the man-made ecological disaster, and as it is today.

This is a memorable albeit grizzly film, which undoubtedly will change your view of Southern California forever. I have never been to Palm Springs, and now candidly I am a little afraid of it. Knowing Palm Springs is in near proximity to the Salton Sea inevitably changes one's view of the town. Instead of seeming like an upscale carefree playground for the wealthy, Palm Springs seems like an area in imminent danger of an impending "horror movie like" catastrophe.

The film is marketed as a quirky and maybe humourous documentary, but really it is pretty much 90% horrifying for the viewer. However, on the other hand, this is a gripping and important topic, and the filmmakers did a great job in bringing to life a topic which obviously has not had enough attention from the media.

Due to the fine choice of documentary topic and the brave unapologetic filmmaking style, Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea earns an A rating.

Grading

Visuals: A

Originality/Innovation: A

Enjoyability: not applicable

Overall: A