A poignant script, attractive production design and appealing performances bring something fresh to familiar coming-of-age tropes in On the Water. It’s set in rural Soviet Estonia in the early 1980s, during a pivotal year in the life of the shy teen protagonist that finds him slowly unlocking his potential. Balancing gentle humor with the hard facts of life, veteran director Peeter Simm finds strong visuals and the correct tone to deliver the story. Twelve-year-old Andres lives near the banks of Lake Tamula, on what would be the wrong side of the tracks, if there was a railroad. His neighbors include brawling alcoholics, grifting prostitutes and cranky, crippled war veterans. He lives with his strict grandparents who come from the spare-the-rod-and-spoil-the-child school of child-rearing. Although bullied at school and lacking peer-group friends, Andres refuses to wallow in his problems. Rather, he tries to escape them through fishing.