If The Pool has a realistic, almost documentary feel, it’s because director Chris Smith is the filmmaker behind such notable documentaries like American Movie, Home Movie and The Yes Men. An unblinking eye serves this film well, which manages a feeling of down to Earth fantasy that made Amal and Slumdog Millionaire work so well, but lacking a sense of whimsy to feel more matter-of-fact. Complete with inexperienced child acts and a fare bit of on-the-fly improvisation, The Pool might as well be a documentary, but as a narrative film it’s succinct and intimate with a fascinating story at its centre.

Venkatesh (Venkatesh Chavan) is a teenage boy working as a janitor/porter in a hotel in Panjim, India. His young friend Jhangir (Jhangir Badshah) is in the same boat, but works doing odd jobs at a restaurant. Off the clock, they sell plastic bags to tourists for a couple of bucks, or at least they do until the city bans plastic bags. Outside of work, Venkatesh is fascinated by a pool in the backyard of comparatively palatial estate as he sits and watches the house’s inhabitants, a father (Nana Patekar) and his disaffected daughter (Ayesha Mohan), from a nearby mango tree. Venkatesh then goes to work for the father helping him garden, and he also befriends his daughter. Through these relationships, life lessons are shared and everyone’s lives are changed forever.

The thing about The Pool is that you’re never quite sure where it’s going. Venkatesh and Jhangir talk about how they might be able to get into the yard to take a dip in the pool, and as Venkatesh kind of stalks the father, you think he’s waiting for an opportunity to sneak into the yard, not ingratiate himself on the man and work as his gardener. Got to say, I wasn’t expecting that. Through working with the father, Venkatesh learns the unfortunate reasons why the people who live there never use the beautiful pool that a boy like Venkatesh can only ever dream about owning. But soon working for the father becomes less about getting to the pool for Venkatesh, but not in a grand epiphany kind of way.

Had The Pool been a conventional, Hollywood movie, Venkatesh probably would have discovered some hidden talent that made him a hot commodity or ended up winning a sack full of cash on the Indian edition of Who Wants to be Millionaire? But this is a movie about small moves, and what Venkatesh comes away with is a greater perspective on his lot in life. He comes to understand that his and Jhangir’s get rich quick schemes won’t get them a decent home, let alone a pool, and he begins to realize that in a small way he can alter things for the better. Not that life, despite their circumstances, is a pit of oppression. The boys are easy-going and genuine friends; Venkatesh explains how they used to rivals in the bag business that teamed up for mutual benefit.

With strong themes of friendship and regret, The Pool is mesmerizing for its simple, laissez-faire narrative and laid back storytelling technique. The children are great and natural in their roles, and Patekar is fascinating to watch as the father. Premiering at Sundance in 2007, I can only imagine it’s because of Slumdog’s Oscar-winner status that this film is finally seeing the light of day. Not that I’m saying that Slumdog is bad or anything, just that it’s too bad that that’s what it took even though the two films really are quite different on a number of levels. Slumdog kind of hits you with its charm and optimism, while The Pool lets you ease into it with a very chilled and laid back approach. The Pool is definitely a hidden gem worth uncovering.