Water in the Ground: When Gossip Becomes Gospel

Is it worth the watch?

Honestly, only if you have a soft spot for black-and-white dramas that move at the speed of a funeral procession. If you want high-octane thrills, look at The Set-Up instead. This one is for the folks who like staring at rain on a windowpane while listening to people argue about morality.

The whole premise is just mean. Some coward writes a poem, puts it in the paper, and suddenly the priest is public enemy number one. It reminded me a bit of how people lose their minds over nothing on the internet today, just without the fiber-optic cables.

José Calle plays the priest with this look of constant, tired confusion. You can see the exact moment he stops trying to clear his name and just accepts that the town has already decided he’s guilty. It’s a crushing look, really.

The town feels like a cage

There’s this one scene in the town square where the background actors look like they’re trying not to laugh. I couldn't stop watching the guy in the back left corner—he’s just holding a basket for three straight minutes, looking like he’s waiting for a bus that’s never coming. It’s a weirdly specific distraction.

The dialogue is thick. Maybe a little too thick. The writers, the Quintero brothers, clearly love their words, but sometimes I just wanted the characters to stop talking and go make a sandwich. The silence is where the movie actually works, especially in the church scenes.

The cinematography is… well, it’s very gray. It’s not trying to look like The Sculptor's Dream with its fancy tricks. It just sits there, watching these people ruin their own lives. It’s bleak, but in a way that feels oddly honest.

• The lighting in the confession booth is actually kind of genius.
• Nobody seems to know how to hold a newspaper properly.
• The ending? Don’t hold your breath for a big payoff.

It’s not a masterpiece, and it’s definitely not for the impatient. But there’s something about the way the rumor spreads—slowly, like ink in water—that stayed with me. It’s not as fun as Hot Dog, but it’s definitely got more to say about human nature. 🌫️