The story is about government workers attempting to evacuate a few last hold-outs before their town and valley are flooded by a new man-made lake made for the purpose of generating power. Evidently it is to be about loss and change, death and rebirth. It is steeped in religious imagery and connotations of an after-life. This theme has potential, but it falls flat in this film. It is extremely slow, mostly dull, and generally incomprehensible. Some scenes were semi-interesting but they were short and few and far between. It's a shame because with this theme and the competent acting of Nick Nolte and James Woods, the film makers could have done a lot, but here it fails miserably.The cinematograpy was at times interesting and beautiful but even that got old after a while.