Leviathan
United Kingdom, United States, France
2012
83 Min
Color
English
Synopsis
Leviathan is a project that stems from a year spent at sea filming with industrial fishermen from New England. In portraying the labor of fishing, it participates in a longstanding history of transforming fisherfolk into images, one that goes back to the beginnings of photography. Yet it resists both the romanticism and the anthropocentrism of this tradition, striving instead for a less sentimental relationship between the human and the pelagic, and to afford equal aesthetic attention and ontological weight to the human, the ecological, and the industrial. In the waters where Melville’s Pequod gave chase to Moby Dick, Leviathan captures the collaborative clash of man, nature, and machine. Shot on a dozen cameras — tossed and tethered, passed from fisherman to filmmaker — it is a cosmic portrait of one of mankind’s oldest endeavors. —Berlinale
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The Future Mr. Gittes
30Apr13
Leviathan is Deadliest Catch as directed by Stan Brakhage, with increasingly poor pacing and questionable composition. Starts out quite strong with a gripping, confusing and, oddly, eerie opening long take. As an anthropological study it's interesting, but it needs to be tightened. Plus, some of the directors' shot selections, particularly toward the end, are downright aggravating without justification.
Samuel Andrade
22Apr13
★★★ digital and visually astonishing experiments on sea life vs. human interference.
Lucas Granero
14Apr13
Llevando al documental observacional a limites casi anatómicos, es la cámara la que se lleva el total protagonismo de esta película avasallante. Tal dispositivo nunca antes tuvo tanto poder en un documental, al punto tal de que parece poseer una propia subjetividad. Lo que se consigue es una obra de un poder alucinatorio insólito, donde el miedo a lo extraño y lo propiamente físico de la situación crean pura poesía.
André Matos likes this
filmcapsule
2Apr13
Castaing-Taylor and Paravel understand the only appropriate use for a new cinematic technology such as the GoPro: not to replicate human senses in the name of “realism,” but to use technology to articulate a new realm of sensation beyond the human. http://filmcapsule.com/2013/04/02/leviathan-2013/
J&K likes this
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Articles
Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
Berlinale 2013. Impressions: B-Sides
By Adam Cook on February 19, 2013
Some reflections on the Berlinale’s retrospective programming, Leviathan inspired art installations, & thoughts on a few more films.
The Noteworthy: The Abel Comeback, Godard on Set, a David Lynch Short
By Notebook on February 13, 2013
Abel Ferrara gets funding for two projects, Leviathan gets a new trailer, Kurosawa storyboards, a new David Lynch short & more.
The Noteworthy: LFU 15/1, "Historic Centre", Carpenter's Favorite Westerns
By Adam Cook on January 23, 2013
La Furia Umana debuts in print, Scorsese and De Palma prep new projects, Cinema Scope divulges their 2012 faves, Oshima + Kurosawa & more.
Notebook's 5th Writers Poll: Fantasy Double Features of 2012
By Daniel Kasman on January 7, 2013
In our annual poll, we pair our favorite new films of 2012 with older films seen in the same year to create fantastic double features.
Movie Poster of the Week: The Posters of the 50th New York Film Festival
By Adrian Curry on September 28, 2012
Our annual round-up of all the posters for the main slate of the New York Film Festival.
The Noteworthy: Jones & Koehler Take Charge, The "Leviathan" Trilogy, Nick Ray at the Chateau Marmont
By Adam Cook on September 19, 2012
This week: striking reality & cinema-blending images, Rosenbaum on TIFF, and some naturally occurring companion pieces to Leviathan.
TIFF 2012. Correspondences #8
By Daniel Kasman on September 16, 2012
Our correspondant’s last report from TIFF discusses new Oliveira, work from a HK genre master, Leviathan, and more.
TIFF 2012. Correspondences #7
By Fernando F. Croce on September 15, 2012
More on Malick in our critics’ TIFF correspondence, which continues with Oliveira’s new film, a visceral documentary and a restored classic.
TIFF 2012. Wavelengths (P)review: Part Two – The Features
By Michael Sicinski on September 11, 2012
An evaluation of the feature films programmed in TIFF’s Wavelengths section.
The Noteworthy: Werner Herzog & The Killers, Venice Underway, The Brain & The Body
By Adam Cook on September 5, 2012
This week we have word on upcoming projects from Werner Herzog, updates from Venice & Adrian Martin on Stephen Dwoskin and Chris Marker.
Leopard Prints: Digital Dreams at the 2012 Festival del Film Locarno
By Leo Goldsmith on August 29, 2012
A wrap-up overview of Locarno—which turns out to be the last under Artistic Director Olivier Père—its prize-winners and highlights.
Heavy Metal: An Interview with "Leviathan" Co-Director Véréna Paravel
By Adam Cook on August 28, 2012
This incredible experimental doc is now out in the US; we talked to the filmmakers at Locarno.
Trailer for Véréna Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor's "Leviathan"
By Notebook on July 7, 2012
The new documentary from the filmmakers of Sweetgrass and Foreign Parts looks absolutely stunning.
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Lucien Castaing-Taylor Talks
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