Odelecol
Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.
Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Nayan Gough
A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.
Verity Robins
Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.
God Zilla
In 2004, John Waters narrated Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea, a humorous documentary on the accidental lake created in the desert of Southern California. You can now find the film hosted on the YouTube channel of KQED, the public television outfit in San Francisco (where we're getting heavy, heavy rains today). Once known as the "California Riviera," the Salton Sea is now considered one of America's worst ecological disasters: a fetid, stagnant, salty lake, coughing up dead fish and birds by the thousands. Plagues & Pleasures is an epic western tale of real estate ventures and failed boomtowns.
bcar50
This is an absolutely fascinating film, the characters and scenery are unforgettable. An Eco-nightmare that doesn't end, it just pulls you in. Unique in a good way and dare I say educational. Highly recommended.After watching this film, find the Salton Sea/City on GoogleEarth and check it out from this perspective. You will see just what the film makers are trying to convey and you get a sense of the extent of this modern tragedy and mans need to never stop believing something this broken can be fixed. Which I now understand after watching this, that it probably never will be.If you watch no other documentary watch this.
Jason Flynn
Plaques and Pleasures on the Salton Sea screened at a festival I attended and I was so very grateful to have seen it. Often when we fatefully stumble across a film instead of having it sold to us, we connect with the piece on a level that is unique to a typical viewing experience. The disastrous and quirky story of the Salton Sea is told by means of historical documentation , as well as, through the reflections of the people who have lived it first hand. The story is approached from various angles, on different levels, and by means of many different formats. All of these elements enrich the experience, which is cherry topped with narration by John Waters, the embodiment of originality and independence. I highly recommend viewers experience life on the Salton Sea, a place that feels like being trapped on a desert island in the Twilight Zone.
cryskyus
I had the pleasure of watching this movie over the weekend. I've seen a couple of shorts on the Salton Sea in the past. My wife used to party there so I also have a personal history to draw upon. She watched it with me as well. This piece is a well balanced look at the beginnings of the sea as well as great footage of the heyday. The locals are presented in a less tabloid manner than the previous shorts I've already mentioned. I am drawn to the plight of the residents and will at some time make the trip just to see it for myself. This movie further solidifies my resolve for this trip. It is a documentary that is pretty evident in it's purpose to portray an even handed opinion. It also lists, to a degree, the pluses and minuses on whether CA should spend the money to reclaim the area. I think it's the best piece I've seen on the sea, to date. I'd recommend it to anyone who is interested in the sea or just likes personal interest stories about people who just refuse to give up when everything around them tells them they should.