Flow is a powerful documentary that delivers an urgent message that we, blinded by having plentiful water at our disposal that we take for granted, must hear as a nation. Nothing is more vital to life than water.

As a species, we cannot live without water for more than two days. It now stands that the world is on the brink of a massive water crisis.

But this isn’t just a situation for the future. As corporations kidnap the remaining fresh water sources on the planet, privatization of water has brought nations to their knees. The world’s poor without the means to purchase it are driven to deadly contaminated sources.

It isn’t just a situation in some far off land either. In our country, water is becoming dangerously scarce. The bottled water industry has very little oversight by the government, often proving less safe than tap water when put to the test.

Flow’s strengths lie in its cinematic beauty and ability to unify communities worldwide with its universal approach. The film attacks the tough issues from all sides and offers a glimmer of hope through viable solutions, calling for the common people to take a stand against the corporations who claim ownership of a resource belonging to everyone.

Grade: A

Flow releases in select theaters Sept. 12.