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Boatman
Boatman
8.6
/10
1,191 Ratings

BOATMAN

Directed by Gianfranco Rosi
Italy, 1993
Documentary

Synopsis

The account of a trip along India’s Ganges river, where locals come to bath, work, or meditate. In a series of small portraits, this sacred place is beautifully depicted. The endless circle of life and death is at the core of India’s population, and it is manifested in how the dead are bid farewell.

Synopsis

The account of a trip along India’s Ganges river, where locals come to bath, work, or meditate. In a series of small portraits, this sacred place is beautifully depicted. The endless circle of life and death is at the core of India’s population, and it is manifested in how the dead are bid farewell.

Our take

Gianfranco Rosi’s debut film is a profound observational tour of life along the banks of the Ganges river from one of the masters of documentary cinema. Accompanied by his ferryman Gopal, Rosi engages with locals and tourists along his journey to form a poetic portrait of a nation and its culture.