A One Mann’s Movies review of “Hot Water”. (From the 2026 London Film Festival). (2026, 3.5*, ’15’).
Not to be confused with the terrible Hot Spot (which I have been for the last 2 days), Hot Water is a charming little road movie and the feature-debut of Beirut-born, NY-based director Ramzi Bashour.
One Mann’s Movies Rating:
Plot:
Layal (Lubna Azabal), a lecturer at Indiana University, is on edge. Her students’ constant moaning drives her to distraction and she is replacing cigarettes (that she’s trying to give up) with clementines (she is getting through a lot of them!). To add fuel to her stress, her son Daniel (Daniel Zolghadri) is knocked out and concussed from an altercation at school… but only after he brains his opponent with a hockey stick and as a result is expelled. With a history of angry outbursts, his only hope of finally finishing his college life is to complete his year with colleges in California by living with his Dad, Anton (Gabe Fazio), in Santa Cruz. Layal wants nothing less than to meet Anton again, who’s drug-addiction split them apart many years ago. But she reluctantly agrees and the pair hit the road.
Certification:
UK: NR; US: NR. (This film has not yet received a classification by the BBFC, but I would expect it to be a 15 based on the amount of full-frontal nudity and some sex-scenes (heard but not seen). If you had no issues with nudity, I don’t think there is anything in hear that I wouldn’t mind a 12-year-old seeing.)
Talent:
Starring: Lubna Azabal, Daniel Zolghadri, Dale Dickey, Yanis Kalnins, Max Walker-Silverman, Gabe Fazio.
Directed by: Ramzi Bashour.
Written by: Ramzi Bashour.
Running Time: 1h 37m.
Review:
Positives:
- This film put a smile on my face from the word go, with Belgian actress Lubna Azabal delivering wonderfully as Layal – a highly frustrated academic (an Arabic lecturer) at Indiana University. Pent up anger is a theme of the movie and Azabel portrays her side of the family’s quota wonderfully. She not only has Daniel to deal with, but also is worrying about her elderly mother back in Beirut who has had a fall. All of this while trying to listen to relaxing self-help recordings!
- The film is full of tender and charming moments:
- When Daniel leaves home, his hockey buddies join him at the bottom of the drive to wave him off;
- Trying to cheer up his Mum in a deadbeat Rodeway Inn in the middle of nowhere, Daniel tries (and fails) to implement the laughter implementor… saying “Ha”, “Ha Ha”, etc. up to ten times.
- Mum is a bit of a cleanliness freak, fast on the draw with a hand sanitizer.
- Daniel stating that “Diners are the best thing in America” (I happen to agree);
- Daniel explaining to his mum that a “Chicken fried steak” is beef, not chicken. “How am I supposed to know that” exclaims Layal, which is a fair point (I didn’t know that).
- Commenting to her parents in Beirut about Las Vegas, “It’s like Dubai… bullshit in the middle of the desert”!
- Looking on Google Maps at the route they took, they pass through Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Utah, a bit of Nevada (Las Vegas) before getting to California. So one of the stars of the film is the US landscapes that are often very impressive.
- The film is full of witty quotes and truisms. The title comes from a quote by the hippy-old-chick Sacha (Dale Dickey) who strips off at a moment’s notice to soak in the local hot springs of Colorado: “God does not count against you” she says “time spent in hot water”. She believes that everyone needs 8 hugs a day, which is a maxim I can get behind. Despite all of the life-affirming actions, her assertion that Anton is “a good guy now” falls on Layal’s deaf ears.
- As they turn down a hitchhiker, Michael (Max Walker-Silverman), at a gas stop, you know that might not end well, but the drama associated with the encounter is good.
- When they finally arrive in California and meet Anton, they are in for a bit of a surprise. But the scenes are warm and feelgood.
Negatives:
- We have seen many, many similar road trip movies before, so this never feels like it was cutting new ground.
- At one point in the plot, it was unclear to me why Daniel couldn’t just rent a one-way rental and drive the rest of the way himself… it’s not as if he hasn’t done a lot of the driving himself anyway.
Summary Thoughts:
A warm and engaging little road movie, this hit a lot of the right spots with me and I would recommend it as a nice – if not groundbreaking – film.
Where to watch?
Trailer:
A clip from the film is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaNwsNctvjk.
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