Taking place in the Salton Sea, a rusting relic of a failed 1950s development boom, Bombay Beach is a dreamlike poem that sets three personal stories to a stylized melding of observational documentary and choreographed dance to music specially composed for the film by Zach Condon of the band Beirut, and songs by Bob Dylan.

"[3] The film tells the story of three protagonists: Benny Parrish, a young boy diagnosed with bipolar disorder whose troubled soul and vivid imagination create both suffering and joy for him and his complex and loving family; "CeeJay" (played by Cedric Thompson), a black teenager and aspiring football player who has taken refuge in Bombay Beach hoping to avoid the same fate of his cousin who was murdered by a gang of youths in Los Angeles; and that of Red, an ancient survivor, once an oil field worker, living on the fumes of whiskey, cigarettes, and an irrepressible love of life.

[7] Filmanzeiger writes, “This documentary turns out to be a strikingly great, strong visual portrait of people at the literal edge of all social margins of Western societies.

[9] From the Associated Press, “Arguably the hit of the festival, Alma Har'el's lyrical debut was the unanimous jury choice [...] Many fictional films try to portray dignity in rural decay, but the authentically poetic Bombay Beach is the real deal.

"[10] Salon wrote, saying “Bombay Beach feels infused with tremendous compassion, and paints a half-accidental portrait of life near the very bottom of the recessionary pyramid.”[6] Village Voice, meanwhile, called it a, “Hybrid doc knockout",[11] while Time Out NY claimed, “The movie constantly upends all the usual nonfiction tropes.”[12] The Guardian described the movie as “An eerily compelling documentary about lost souls in a lost place.”[13] Bombay Beach was promoted by Focus Features[14] in the US and Dogwoof[15] in the UK, and has been broadcast widely.