Indie Watch
Leviathan
By Dan Krovich
September 26, 2013
BoxOfficeProphets.com
VOD Pick of the Week
Leviathan
Not to be confused with the 1989 Peter Weller starring horror film, Leviathan is the latest documentary from Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor, who work at the Sensory Ethnography Lab at Harvard University. Filmed on a large fishing vessel during a weeks-long fishing expedition off the coast of New Bedford, Massachusetts, Leviathan is more of an experience than simply a documentary film. While it is truly a film that deserves to be seen in a theater on a big screen with a great sound system, seeing as experimental documentaries aren’t likely to get much of a theatrical release, home viewing is likely to be the only opportunity for most people to see the film.
Armed with an arsenal of cameras, the film crew shot footage themselves as well as passed the cameras off to the ship’s crew. Cameras were also attached to various machinery and equipment on board and overboard to give a unique point of view to the inner workings of the crew and the boat as they interact with the environment around them. The film is non linear and virtually wordless. There is no voice over or talking head interviews to explain what’s going on as the film takes an experiential approach, which may not ultimately provide an understanding of the details that go into the workings of a large fishing boat, but does allow for an examination of the relationship between man, machine, and the environment.
The techniques used in Leviathan create a hypnotic and immersive experience to the point where you can almost smell the seawater. In many respects the film is serious and experimental, but it is not without a sense of humor. Just as I was thinking that Leviathan could work as the artiest episode ever of Deadliest Catch, the film breaks character ever so slightly with a knowing wink.
Leviathan undoubtedly will inevitably lose some of its impact on a small screen. It also does require a certain state of mind to be able to lose yourself in the film’s rhythms and visuals, but if you can it will provide you with a one of a kind visceral experience.
Available at iTunes
New releases for September 27th
As I Lay Dying: James Franco directs, stars in, and co-writes this adaptation of the classic William Faulkner novel about a family traveling through the Mississippi countryside to bring the body of their deceased mother to her hometown for burial. Franco has directed award winning short films and a documentary on Saturday Night Live, but this is his first traditional narrative feature. Franco is obviously something of a Faulkner fan as he is also in works on a film version of The Sound and the Fury.
Inequality for All: While the Occupy Movement has seemingly died down, not much if anything actually changed from all of the sit-ins and slogans. Swap out Al Gore with Robert Reich and global warming with income inequality and Inequality for All becomes an economic version of An Inconvenient Truth. Reich, former Labor Secretary under Bill Clinton, advocates for the middle class as we head towards more and more income concentration.
Therese: Sure to please the fans of costumed period piece tales of ill-fated love, Therese, an adaptation of Emile Zola’s novel Therese Raquin, takes place in 1860s Paris. Orphaned as a young girl, Therese (Elizabeth Olsen) is forced into a loveless marriage to her cousin (Tom Felton) by her domineering aunt (Jessica Lange). She is resigned to her station in life until her husband’s co-worker Laurent (Oscar Isaac) enters the picture. Therese and Laurent begin an illicit affair that sets them on a doomed path destined to end with tragic consequences.
We Are What We Are: Ostensibly a remake of Mexican filmmaker Jorge Michel Grau’s film of the same name, director Jim Mickle (Stake Land) apparently diverges quite a bit from the original while keeping the basic core of the story. Set in the Catskills, family patriarch, Frank Parker, tries to keep old time religious traditions alive in his household while the modern world encroaches. It turns out that these traditions may be related to some mysterious disappearances in the area, and as local authorities find clues that point them to the Parker clan it becomes more and more difficult to keep their dark secret.