Film Review: Tapped

In the 1980’s bottled water was something of a gimmick, but once big corporations like Nestle, Coca-Cola, and Pepsi began producing it due to the drop in soda sales, it caught on and today its a billion dollar business. The new documentary Tapped, directed by Stephanie Soechtig takes a look at the environmental and financial consequences.

The film highlights some of the facts about bottled water that the public is unaware of, the most startling being that a good percentage of the water is essentially tap water, taken free of charge from locations around the country without any filtering or outside testing because its free from many of the rules of the Food and Drug Administration. The financial issues that the film raises while alarming are inconsequential compared to the environmental and health consequences that arise from the plastic containers which often end up floating in large pockets in our oceans and sometimes contain Bisphenol A, better known as BPA, a known estrogenic which can leach into the water causing problems for both people and wildlife.

The documentary makes some strong points and follows up with some well researched facts that are illustrated in a variety of ways from short animations to interviews with people on both sides of the issue as well as reactions from the public. The film stands out as one of those documentaries like Food Inc. or Sicko that might forever alter your awareness and understanding of the issue and might well cause a stir with the public if it manages to reach the masses.

For: Short&SweetNYC