An interestingly filmed documentary that suggests a sensory experience rather than just capturing the conventionally "beautiful" images of the life in the sea. If you wish to watch a film that has a conventional narration do not watch this. The camera seeks to document fish, birds, nets, man, the sea etc with the same curiosity and the same intensity, everything being of the same importance. The camera moves a lot in this process and sometimes makes you feel dizzy but at the same time this way of documenting captures the essence of this world where everything moves and swirls constantly. Throughout the film there is an insistent mixing and blurring between the sea and the sky, up and down. The scenes showing the masses of fish tangled in the nets suggest a comment on man's voracity. Beautifully recorded sound. A bit bumpy but an interesting and genuine experience.
44 Reviews
Man As the Cruelest of Preditors
dianepalmr27 October 2013
If you are expecting a neat little movie with a clear plot, that leaves you with a sense of having experienced something you can summarize easily ... you'll be sorely disappointed. This is a horror film in many senses, presented as poetry and intellectually obscure.
Its title, Leviathan, is a reference to the biblical passage that depicts man's encounter with a sea monster. Here, the monster is man, ripping life from the sea and destroying it in the harshest of ways, butchering sea creatures in such a matter-of-fact, emotionally detached way as to bring you to tears. But the way it is filmed creates a detachment of its own, sort of stifling the viewers' emotions so we can watch without turning away.
It is on its surface a commentary on the commercial fishing industry ... how we have reduced mass slaughter to an assembly-line process ... much like what the Nazis did to the Jews. When man turns against man, we are horrified. When man turns against nature ... it's just business as usual.
If there is a message to the film it's that we are the monsters on this planet.
Its title, Leviathan, is a reference to the biblical passage that depicts man's encounter with a sea monster. Here, the monster is man, ripping life from the sea and destroying it in the harshest of ways, butchering sea creatures in such a matter-of-fact, emotionally detached way as to bring you to tears. But the way it is filmed creates a detachment of its own, sort of stifling the viewers' emotions so we can watch without turning away.
It is on its surface a commentary on the commercial fishing industry ... how we have reduced mass slaughter to an assembly-line process ... much like what the Nazis did to the Jews. When man turns against man, we are horrified. When man turns against nature ... it's just business as usual.
If there is a message to the film it's that we are the monsters on this planet.
A Movie Designed for the Senses and the Imagination
l_rawjalaurence5 December 2013
LEVIATHAN has attracted a fair amount of negative criticism from users. The reason is obvious: it is an essentially plot less piece designed to appeal to the senses and the imagination rather than telling a story. Focusing on the fishing industry in New Bedford, USA, directors Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel create a visually arresting experience in which color and imagery assume paramount importance. The movie is full of memorable images - a flock of seagulls flying at night, a lone bird trying to find food on the fishing boat, the sight of the fishermen lopping the heads off their catch. The movie has a memorable soundtrack, with the sounds of daily life in the fishing industry forming a kind of musique-concrete style score that has a certain haunting power. In thematic terms, the directors are out to show the power of the elements and how human life often seems insignificant by comparison - sometimes the fishermen seem entirely at the mercy of the cruel sea. Nonetheless they acquire a certain stoicism that enables them to continue their work; in one sequence, for instance, a lone fishermen is shown watching the television during one of his all-too- brief breaks from his nightly chores. LEVIATHAN does not celebrate the fishermen's life; it is more concerned to create an experience for viewers, and more than fulfills the task.
Another experimental film taking the 'less is more' approach to art and filmmaking.
Hellmant4 February 2014
'LEVIATHAN': Three Stars (Out of Five)
Another experimental film taking the 'less is more' approach to art and filmmaking. There's no storyline, no character development and no characters for that matter. The movie 'LEVIATHAN' (not to be confused with the 1989 monster flick, of the same name, starring Peter Weller) is a collection of long random shots aboard a fishing ship. It was directed and written (if you can call it writing) by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel. I found it to be visually interesting but also extremely boring.
The movie is just a collection of random shots (that go on for way too long) about a fishing vessel. It's supposed to be some kind of a commentary on the fishing industry I think. There's a lot of shots of people doing various jobs, with almost no dialogue (and what dialogue there is is not important). It was filmed with waterproof cameras that are clipped to all sorts of people, animals (possibly) and things.
The film received rave reviews and I don't understand why. I think it actually would have been a lot better cut into a bunch of 5 to 10 minute YouTube videos. As a nearly 90 minute movie it's way too long and uninteresting. The shots look cool though and I guess it's kind of an informative look at the fishing industry and life at sea. It reminds me of another recent critically acclaimed but very boring film (with no dialogue) called 'ALL IS LOST'. In my opinion there's not much to it.
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR3e7zdl6R4
Another experimental film taking the 'less is more' approach to art and filmmaking. There's no storyline, no character development and no characters for that matter. The movie 'LEVIATHAN' (not to be confused with the 1989 monster flick, of the same name, starring Peter Weller) is a collection of long random shots aboard a fishing ship. It was directed and written (if you can call it writing) by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel. I found it to be visually interesting but also extremely boring.
The movie is just a collection of random shots (that go on for way too long) about a fishing vessel. It's supposed to be some kind of a commentary on the fishing industry I think. There's a lot of shots of people doing various jobs, with almost no dialogue (and what dialogue there is is not important). It was filmed with waterproof cameras that are clipped to all sorts of people, animals (possibly) and things.
The film received rave reviews and I don't understand why. I think it actually would have been a lot better cut into a bunch of 5 to 10 minute YouTube videos. As a nearly 90 minute movie it's way too long and uninteresting. The shots look cool though and I guess it's kind of an informative look at the fishing industry and life at sea. It reminds me of another recent critically acclaimed but very boring film (with no dialogue) called 'ALL IS LOST'. In my opinion there's not much to it.
Watch our movie review show 'MOVIE TALK' at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UR3e7zdl6R4
Leviathan
joelgadd415 November 2013
I've never felt compelled to counteract negative reviews on this site before, but in the case of Leviathan I couldn't help myself. If I had come to this film expecting a traditional documentary on the commercial fishing industry, I may have been contributing my very own one-star critique right now. Then again, if I'd thought this was going to be a traditional documentary on the commercial fishing industry, I probably wouldn't have watched it in the first place.
Leviathan is definitely experimental (though experiential may be a better descriptor for it.) It offers no narration, no facts or figures, no conclusion or agenda. The only dialogue we hear is, for the most part, distorted to the point of abstraction.
What Leviathan does offer is an immersive, hypnotic experience. The sounds and images are alternately nightmarish, surreal and eerily beautiful. Even the rudimentary glimpses into the lives of the fishermen on board are rendered at an odd reserve, remaining as enigmatic as the seabirds we see throughout the film, crashing into the black waves. Experiencing this movie is like being transformed into an alien observer; the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
Of course, everyone's entitled to an opinion, and I can completely understand why a person might hate this movie. It truly is a Rorschach blot of a film, allowing the audience to engage with it from almost any angle imaginable. I think that's where Leviathan's beauty lies. Anyone interested in what movies can show us should at least give this one a shot.
Leviathan is definitely experimental (though experiential may be a better descriptor for it.) It offers no narration, no facts or figures, no conclusion or agenda. The only dialogue we hear is, for the most part, distorted to the point of abstraction.
What Leviathan does offer is an immersive, hypnotic experience. The sounds and images are alternately nightmarish, surreal and eerily beautiful. Even the rudimentary glimpses into the lives of the fishermen on board are rendered at an odd reserve, remaining as enigmatic as the seabirds we see throughout the film, crashing into the black waves. Experiencing this movie is like being transformed into an alien observer; the ordinary becomes extraordinary.
Of course, everyone's entitled to an opinion, and I can completely understand why a person might hate this movie. It truly is a Rorschach blot of a film, allowing the audience to engage with it from almost any angle imaginable. I think that's where Leviathan's beauty lies. Anyone interested in what movies can show us should at least give this one a shot.
They tried for something different, but went a bit too far.
manolasj30 December 2013
Warning: Spoilers
As the movie progresses, it becomes more and more evident that it's actually an homage to the everyday lives of the fishermen. In fact, before the end credits the film makers dedicate the movie to countless ships lost at sea during their fishing trips.
So the film tries to give us even a slight feeling of the men's struggle, and the truth is it's successful at that. One can only feel uncomfortable seeing how these people get whipped by the cold wind and the rain and the waves, in the night, probably soaked to the bone, amidst thick layers of fish blood. The micro-cameras offer unusual angles and aspects, and a hint of lyricism is conveyed where an analogy of the struggles is attempted (the fish gasp for their last breath, the seagulls lurk for food, the fishermen cope with the hardship so they can earn the daily bread).
But ultimately the camera-dipping gets tiresome, the fishing routine repeats itself, and the lengthy shots result to boredom after the initial awe. The attempt for an alternative documentary (it could easily have been "a day on the ship", with jokes among the men, interviews etc.) is appreciated, but the film misses the mark.
So the film tries to give us even a slight feeling of the men's struggle, and the truth is it's successful at that. One can only feel uncomfortable seeing how these people get whipped by the cold wind and the rain and the waves, in the night, probably soaked to the bone, amidst thick layers of fish blood. The micro-cameras offer unusual angles and aspects, and a hint of lyricism is conveyed where an analogy of the struggles is attempted (the fish gasp for their last breath, the seagulls lurk for food, the fishermen cope with the hardship so they can earn the daily bread).
But ultimately the camera-dipping gets tiresome, the fishing routine repeats itself, and the lengthy shots result to boredom after the initial awe. The attempt for an alternative documentary (it could easily have been "a day on the ship", with jokes among the men, interviews etc.) is appreciated, but the film misses the mark.
Very Poor Movie
rogerholland9814 October 2013
Movie was somewhat like "Deadliest Catch", but shot with a wobbly camera to make it seem more life-like. The result was a very boring movie. Although it only lasted one hour, I fell asleep two times. Some of the shots would be somewhat interesting for 5-10 seconds, but they lasted for 3-4 minutes. And some of the scenes were repeated several times. Additionally, the camera angle made some of the shots hard to understand what you were looking at. This could have been an interesting documentary, if they had not have botched the photography so badly. Watching this movie was a big waste of my time and money. I highly recommend that you not waste your time and money.
An impressive dark visual voyage
veronikastehr27 February 2014
This experimental-documentary film examines in a very concise manner the problematic of mass consumption featuring a fishing ship as an all- devouring sea monster - Leviathan. The viewer is immediately immersed in a dark vision of this demonic large steel beast which leaves behind the remains of sea creatures and coloring sea water in red, surrounded with the sounds of fluttering semi-living fish, chains, anchors, ocean and screams of seagulls. They all create this sinister sound like a choked howls from abyss. An impressive visual and sound voyage and innovative approach to the issue (mass consumption) characterize this exceptional work about insufficiently identified atrocities of contemporary civilization.
For Cod's sake
tieman6419 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Directed by Lucian Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel, "Leviathan" is an experimental documentary set on a New Bedford fishing trawler. Both Lucian and Verena are members of the Sensory Ethnography Lab at Harvard University; sensory ethnography attempts to merge aesthetics with the anthropological study of people and cultures. Presumably the duo are attempting to impart the "sensation" and "feeling" of life on a trawler.
Is sensory ethnography an art or an academic field of discipline? Is it both? Isn't good art already anthropological? Doesn't good art already convey the feeling and sensation of people, cultures and places? Conversely, doesn't a good paper or lecture by an anthropologist – arguably a "type of art" - do the same? Why exactly does Harvard have a sensory ethnography department? Who does this department hope to reach?
Regardless, Lucina and Verena previously made "Foreign Parts" and "Sweetgrass", which delved into the worlds of urban chop-shops and rural shepherds. Both were comprised of interviews, dialogue, wide shots, and somewhat thin observations about labour, people and social relations. These films attempted to provide "insights" into their subjects.
"Leviathan" is a different beast altogether. Interviews, narration and dialogue have been jettisoned. Gone too are most medium and wide-shots, the film mostly comprised of close-ups stolen from small cameras mounted at odd angles throughout a fishing boat. These cameras capture roiling waves, dark skies, nets, fish, chains and much flopping, gasping and sloshing to and fro. The film is dizzying, disorienting, expressionistic, each shot like the pebble of a mosaic that never quite coalesces. Like obscure images torn from the swollen eyeballs of decapitated fish, "Leviathan" doesn't make much "normal" visual sense.
Fittingly, "Leviathan" opens with an epigraph from the Book of Job, a book which speaks of the impossibility of capturing a Biblical beast. "Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook," Job reads, "or tie down its tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through its nose, or pierce its jaw with a hook?"
Do Lucian and Verena intend their film to be a similar statement on the "impossibility of capturing" certain "sensations" and "turths" via media? If so, good job. Or do the duo intend their film to be a "sensory experience" which honestly explores the sensory overload of commercial trawling? If so, then the film is mostly ridiculous. In the world of "Leviathan", fishing is a ghoulish horror-show, an unending blitz of stabbing sounds and discordant imagery. Here, everything is bathed in Old Testament doom and gloom, the oceans apocalyptic, the skies on fire and man and nature forever locked in a battle for supremacy; fishermen murder beasts by the millions whilst Nature reaches down and squeezes man.
But this is not the "reality" of fishing or the reality of fishing towns (see Frederick Wiseman's "Belfast, Maine"). It's more a freak-show for easily grossed-out First Worlders beholden to hand sanitisers, tampons, microwave dinners, anti-septic maternity wards and pre-packaged, bone-less meat. "Leviathan's" plays like a film about the working class which panders to the pampered and the intelligentsia. Assuming, of course, Lucian and Verena intended to make a film about fishing. For all we know, "Leviathan's" literally the adventure of a fish's dismembered eyeball.
6/10 – Worth one viewing.
Is sensory ethnography an art or an academic field of discipline? Is it both? Isn't good art already anthropological? Doesn't good art already convey the feeling and sensation of people, cultures and places? Conversely, doesn't a good paper or lecture by an anthropologist – arguably a "type of art" - do the same? Why exactly does Harvard have a sensory ethnography department? Who does this department hope to reach?
Regardless, Lucina and Verena previously made "Foreign Parts" and "Sweetgrass", which delved into the worlds of urban chop-shops and rural shepherds. Both were comprised of interviews, dialogue, wide shots, and somewhat thin observations about labour, people and social relations. These films attempted to provide "insights" into their subjects.
"Leviathan" is a different beast altogether. Interviews, narration and dialogue have been jettisoned. Gone too are most medium and wide-shots, the film mostly comprised of close-ups stolen from small cameras mounted at odd angles throughout a fishing boat. These cameras capture roiling waves, dark skies, nets, fish, chains and much flopping, gasping and sloshing to and fro. The film is dizzying, disorienting, expressionistic, each shot like the pebble of a mosaic that never quite coalesces. Like obscure images torn from the swollen eyeballs of decapitated fish, "Leviathan" doesn't make much "normal" visual sense.
Fittingly, "Leviathan" opens with an epigraph from the Book of Job, a book which speaks of the impossibility of capturing a Biblical beast. "Can you pull in Leviathan with a fishhook," Job reads, "or tie down its tongue with a rope? Can you put a cord through its nose, or pierce its jaw with a hook?"
Do Lucian and Verena intend their film to be a similar statement on the "impossibility of capturing" certain "sensations" and "turths" via media? If so, good job. Or do the duo intend their film to be a "sensory experience" which honestly explores the sensory overload of commercial trawling? If so, then the film is mostly ridiculous. In the world of "Leviathan", fishing is a ghoulish horror-show, an unending blitz of stabbing sounds and discordant imagery. Here, everything is bathed in Old Testament doom and gloom, the oceans apocalyptic, the skies on fire and man and nature forever locked in a battle for supremacy; fishermen murder beasts by the millions whilst Nature reaches down and squeezes man.
But this is not the "reality" of fishing or the reality of fishing towns (see Frederick Wiseman's "Belfast, Maine"). It's more a freak-show for easily grossed-out First Worlders beholden to hand sanitisers, tampons, microwave dinners, anti-septic maternity wards and pre-packaged, bone-less meat. "Leviathan's" plays like a film about the working class which panders to the pampered and the intelligentsia. Assuming, of course, Lucian and Verena intended to make a film about fishing. For all we know, "Leviathan's" literally the adventure of a fish's dismembered eyeball.
6/10 – Worth one viewing.
When artistic endeavor pays off.
e-1305130 January 2017
Leviathan is a bold documentary shot with multiple small camera's from many strange angles. The camera dips under the water oh so often and we see how birds attack their prey. We see up close fish carcasses in containers and blood dripping from tables where the fish are being gutted on board a ship. Meanwhile the crew of the ship mumbles inaudible and sometimes come into frame. Actually there is not much said at all in this dark and claustrophobic tale of life and death at sea. What are the filmmakers trying to convey, no Idea. But what is shown is fascinating and intriqueing. Is it a horror tale showing how our mass consumption threatens all? Or just a grim look at daily life of fishermen trying to earn a pay-check? Either way the film is a enjoyable - albeit a sometimes extremely slowly paced - roller-coaster of a ride. Maybe more of an art piece than straight up documentary but that's OK. If I want to watch people talk about the experience of fishing I can turn on discovery Channel.
Wow, what the heck did I just try to watch?
mailer66624 October 2013
I've seen bad movies and documentaries before, but I have no idea what this even is.
Some guy strapped a go pro to his head, and randomly walks around a ship. Might have some merit after the first 5 minutes if it developed into a horror flick from the deep, but I am at a loss for words. No character development, no plot, no dialog, no anything really except a bunch of monotonous visuals.
How this got such a high rating (currently 6.8/10) is genuinely puzzling, if not suspicious.
My guess is someone spent 100's of hours creating fake accounts just to rate it up, or those involved with it's creation convinced all their friends, relatives etc... to give it high ratings.
Fortunately, I could simply fast forward after the first 15 minutes to confirm this oddity is a video was just more of the same thing over, and over again.
Call me old fashioned. I like at least some words or speech, an attempt at a plot, and character development is always nice.
Some guy strapped a go pro to his head, and randomly walks around a ship. Might have some merit after the first 5 minutes if it developed into a horror flick from the deep, but I am at a loss for words. No character development, no plot, no dialog, no anything really except a bunch of monotonous visuals.
How this got such a high rating (currently 6.8/10) is genuinely puzzling, if not suspicious.
My guess is someone spent 100's of hours creating fake accounts just to rate it up, or those involved with it's creation convinced all their friends, relatives etc... to give it high ratings.
Fortunately, I could simply fast forward after the first 15 minutes to confirm this oddity is a video was just more of the same thing over, and over again.
Call me old fashioned. I like at least some words or speech, an attempt at a plot, and character development is always nice.
One of the most beautiful and amazing works of film I have ever seen!
masterofthefreeworldprod10 April 2014
If you want to see a masterpiece of visual and sound like no other, see the documentary film Leviathan. It is one of my favorite films (now) and like nothing I have ever seen, a true experience of nature and life in both the cruelest and most beautiful sense.
The director is able to convey amazing emotion and feeling though just the use of light and shape, let alone the whole piece taking the audience though an experience of life and nature. It's contrasting imagery of experimental visuals based on shape and color compared to ones of stark, bestial nature.
I barely have any words to try and explain how masterful this film is. Please do not avoid it because some of the poor reviews here, watch the film with an open mind and you will experience something that you never have before.
The director is able to convey amazing emotion and feeling though just the use of light and shape, let alone the whole piece taking the audience though an experience of life and nature. It's contrasting imagery of experimental visuals based on shape and color compared to ones of stark, bestial nature.
I barely have any words to try and explain how masterful this film is. Please do not avoid it because some of the poor reviews here, watch the film with an open mind and you will experience something that you never have before.
An unforgettable experimental film
annacatley14 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Last year, if I'd been forced to watch an 87 minutes-long experimental documentary on the North-Atlantic commerical fishing industry, in which not a single word is spoken, I'd probably have rather poked my eyes out. Luckily, I've opted to grow a pair and face the poorly-lit, disembodied camera viewpoints that seem to dominate certain experimental films, head-on. Leviathan (2012) is one of those difficult to watch films that you could never really finish unless you watched it on a big screen or had an insane amount of discipline not to periodically check Facebook. The imagery of the film comes from tiny waterproof cameras that are placed in various locations or attached to moving objects and people, capturing the sights and sounds of the commercial fishing world. Thirty percent of the film is visually stunning and the rest is a blurry, dark mess with the occasional glowing alienesque halo hovering over severed fish heads or tangled nets. One quote I came across hilariously offered the title of David Lynch, Gone Fishin' as an alternative title to the film. Other memorable shots feature a viewpoint of hopping under and above water, each time surfacing to an incredible flock of seagulls hovering just about the surface of the water. And although there is no scripted dialogue or voice-over narrative, the men who work the fishing boats are shown in all their raw honesty below the decks cleaning shells, above deck chopping rays or in the lounges watching TV on break. Leviathan covers a lot of startling images but the greatest mystery of the film is what kind of message the filmmakers were trying to make with this work, in that there really isn't a singular stance they're taking. Leviathan is categorized as a documentary, though it doesn't really seem to constitute one without any kind of information supplementary to the images. "Experimental Ethnographic film" might be a more appropriate term. Whatever the right wording is, I came away from this screening with a real respect for what the filmmakers (Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel) had accomplished. I can't say for certain that I can land on any kind of opinion regarding the subject of the film, but I know that I was deeply affected by certain images (especially one in which two fishermen systemically hack the wings off of Rays). Leviathan isn't in any way trustworthy or certain, but it's not a film I'll soon forget.
What was this all about?
Jasikan26 October 2013
The first thing I want to say is don't watch this movie. If you must watch this movie, then please empty your bladder first. I should get some kind of commendation for having watched the entire movie in one sitting. Yes, it was *that* bad.
I should start off by saying I initially knew nothing about this movie, not even that it was a "documentary". The only thing I knew about it was the title. Based on the title and the first "scene" (can it really be called a scene?) I had a feeling it was going to be a kind of Blair Witch of the sea. It seemed to be very slowly leading up to some disaster. There is darkness at sea. Some fishermen are working on a boat. It's dark. There's no dialog. Nothing but the sounds of the boat and the sea. You just know something is going to happen. Then 15 minutes goes by. Then 20. Then you start to wonder.
It took me a while to realize this is a "documentary". Except, there's no dialog. There's no narration. There are lots of sounds. Lots of water lots of fish. Lots of sea birds. Lots of out-of-focus shots. Lots of meaningless extreme close-ups. Lots and lots of water. There is very little "human" element. Most of what there is are extreme close-ups of pot-bellied, tattooed, chain-smoking white guys... who apparently don't talk much.
I learned nothing from this movie. Working on a fishing boat is lonely, dirty, wet, and hard work. I think I already knew that. The only thing I thought was good about the film is that the sea scallops looked really really good. I may just get some tomorrow. The only thing I could relate to in the film was the scene where the guy is falling asleep while watching television. That should be the movie trailer because it pretty much sums it all up.
Trust me: skip this one.
I should start off by saying I initially knew nothing about this movie, not even that it was a "documentary". The only thing I knew about it was the title. Based on the title and the first "scene" (can it really be called a scene?) I had a feeling it was going to be a kind of Blair Witch of the sea. It seemed to be very slowly leading up to some disaster. There is darkness at sea. Some fishermen are working on a boat. It's dark. There's no dialog. Nothing but the sounds of the boat and the sea. You just know something is going to happen. Then 15 minutes goes by. Then 20. Then you start to wonder.
It took me a while to realize this is a "documentary". Except, there's no dialog. There's no narration. There are lots of sounds. Lots of water lots of fish. Lots of sea birds. Lots of out-of-focus shots. Lots of meaningless extreme close-ups. Lots and lots of water. There is very little "human" element. Most of what there is are extreme close-ups of pot-bellied, tattooed, chain-smoking white guys... who apparently don't talk much.
I learned nothing from this movie. Working on a fishing boat is lonely, dirty, wet, and hard work. I think I already knew that. The only thing I thought was good about the film is that the sea scallops looked really really good. I may just get some tomorrow. The only thing I could relate to in the film was the scene where the guy is falling asleep while watching television. That should be the movie trailer because it pretty much sums it all up.
Trust me: skip this one.
The Velvet Underground vs. The Beatles
xmdbx18 November 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Leviathan is a different take on the nature documentary. It is one of the few documentaries that is actually able to capture the essence of its subject. Using strategically gathered footage, the film gives the viewer an intense look at what it's like to be involved with commercial fishing. It's not sensationalized like Deadliest Catch, it's real. All of it. The long uncut shots are what make the film which is trite to say but it's true. There aren't other documentaries that do what this one does. A comparison that occured to me is that this is The Velvet Underground to Planet Earth's The Beatles. That's nothing against either of them, they're both two of my favorite bands ever. I liked how the fish were credited.
Dark, disturbing experience
acid_2324 June 2014
First of all, i can understand why some folks don't like this movie. It is unconventional, experimental and honest. So not everybody's cup of tea. The first five minutes i was also in a mood of "nahh what is that?" but then i kept watching and let myself go. The scenes are very long so they kinda let you immerse into what is happening after a while. What you see is not nice. But somehow i got hooked. It was almost kinda like meditation. Beautiful and disturbing at the same time. Just images and sound that together form something whole after a while. After i watched it, i didn't knew if i liked it or not. But days later i am still thinking about it, so i decided to like it. It is sort of Art and Reality melted together. An audiovisual experience that drags you down in the world of the sea, the fisherman, the boat, humankind, the world we live in. And it does that without telling you anything you didn't know already, because it doesn't have to.
If you are up for a new experience that will make you think about it for a while, go see the movie!
If you are up for a new experience that will make you think about it for a while, go see the movie!
How Did This Garbage Win Independent Awards??
riggsmccool23 October 2013
The only reason I'm leaving this review is because it is so bad; most people whom have seen it refuse to waste valuable time reliving such junk via words. I urge you to down a bottle of your favorite liquor and swallow a few prescription drugs you may have on hand before hitting the play button on this one. It's an absolute disaster of footage imitating and failing at any level of entertainment. This is not a film, nor a short, nor a documentary... It's not even a successful experimental documentary.
Leviathan (2012) is merely a large collection of {extremely poorly executed} Hero HD footage {without any narration whatsoever} stitched together in a cheap NLE on some fisherman's laptop while in his bunk at sea. It seems to have been created exclusively for the pleasure of commercial fisherman. I do respect commercial fisherman, but not this wannabe film. Other than that, IMO, this thing doesn't deserve a page on IMDb.
Strange, odd, and really very terrible in the sense of film making.
Leviathan (2012) is merely a large collection of {extremely poorly executed} Hero HD footage {without any narration whatsoever} stitched together in a cheap NLE on some fisherman's laptop while in his bunk at sea. It seems to have been created exclusively for the pleasure of commercial fisherman. I do respect commercial fisherman, but not this wannabe film. Other than that, IMO, this thing doesn't deserve a page on IMDb.
Strange, odd, and really very terrible in the sense of film making.
See it
dawsonn_2126 December 2013
This doc is a 'hard' watch but it does repay the effort. Heavymetal is the workers music of choice and the heavy metal of grinding gears and chains on the film's soundtrack is an assault to the ears. The use of small waterproof cameras has enabled the directors to establish highly unusual points of view, underwater sequences of the by-catch flashing past are seared on to your retina ( I had a detachment soon after watching this doc so I don't use the term lightly, you've got to suffer for art), the feeling of immersion in the life of the trawler and the hard physical work of the trawler-men is strong and the longueurs of the repetitive work are not shied away from and the reality of killing fish is seldom off the screen
Total crapfest.
tim-arnold77714 February 2014
Warning: Spoilers
The movie poster is purposefully misleading. C'mon...let's use a creepy Gothic font, a dark ominous sky full of creepy birds, and for good measure, a Bible verse in the opening sequence about a legendary creature of massive dimensions...and it is nothing more than a bunch of GoPro camera B-roll of what? How tedious and boring commercial fishing can be? How the big bad commercial fishing "leviathans" are overfishing the ocean?
Good Lord...my friend's 12 year-old grandson has amateur footage on Vimeo that puts this tripe to shame. My advice to the makers of this movie? Be honest. Being a lousy film maker is nothing to be ashamed of. I certainly couldn't do it. But what I would never do, is post a picture of a devastatingly handsome man in his late twenties on Match.com and not understand why my hot young date was upset that I actually turned out to be an overweight man in his late fifties with wrinkles, saggy neck skin, and thinning gray hair.
Good Lord...my friend's 12 year-old grandson has amateur footage on Vimeo that puts this tripe to shame. My advice to the makers of this movie? Be honest. Being a lousy film maker is nothing to be ashamed of. I certainly couldn't do it. But what I would never do, is post a picture of a devastatingly handsome man in his late twenties on Match.com and not understand why my hot young date was upset that I actually turned out to be an overweight man in his late fifties with wrinkles, saggy neck skin, and thinning gray hair.
It was great... Suspended journey to unknown world. "Cinema is writing with Camera". And it's true for this Film...
mehobulls10 September 2020
Blood, guts, flesh, fishes, carcasses, knifes, butchery, filth, water, seagulls, workers, cigarettes, days, nights, alienation, Gopro cameras. This is sensory anthropology at its best. The viewer is trapped into this immersive world and forced to experience life and working hours through the fishermen's eyes. A fascinating, nauseous and vertiginous documentary film about industrial fishing. Masterpiece.
Leviathan as a 'documentary'?
ged_b17 November 2013
Warning: Spoilers
It's not a documentary. It's art. As such it is quite unusual and can be a bit hypnotic, but as a documentary, it is dire. Perhaps if I'd been ingesting LSD25 or other hallucinogenic, or even been smoking some 'righteous' herbs it might have won me over more, but chilling out one cold evening it was neither entertaining nor enlightening nor even controversial or emotional at all.
Dull art, mostly.
It even goes as far as to begin to repeat itself at one point, and allowed me to think.. "Oh good, it's ending with full circle", but it was only half way.
Dull art, mostly.
It even goes as far as to begin to repeat itself at one point, and allowed me to think.. "Oh good, it's ending with full circle", but it was only half way.
Theatrical immersion
julius-redding29 June 2014
Seeing this film in a theaters absolutely blew me away. The sound design and cinematography is absolutely brilliant. So dope.
Subtle way to tell a large story, I loved how the movie didn't just blast out some fool talking at me about fishing. Who gives a f*ck. This was a more powerful way to get at the same point.
I recommend this film to just about anybody with an open mind, but this is a MUST see in theaters to experience the power of this film. I can't imagine watching this film on a tiny computer screen DON'T DO IT!
Powerful film, beautiful filmmaking, looking forward to these cats next flick
Subtle way to tell a large story, I loved how the movie didn't just blast out some fool talking at me about fishing. Who gives a f*ck. This was a more powerful way to get at the same point.
I recommend this film to just about anybody with an open mind, but this is a MUST see in theaters to experience the power of this film. I can't imagine watching this film on a tiny computer screen DON'T DO IT!
Powerful film, beautiful filmmaking, looking forward to these cats next flick
don't bother
121mcv24 October 2013
A portrait of the contemporary commercial fishing industry. Filmed off the coast of New Bedford, Massachusetts – at one time the whaling capital of the world as well as Melville's inspiration for 'Moby Dick'; it is today the country's largest fishing port with over 500 ships sailing from its harbor every month. Leviathan follows one such vessel, a hulking ground fish trawler, into the surrounding murky black waters on a weeks- long fishing expedition.
I was looking forward to it but really was quite rubbish. No character development, no plot, no dialog, no anything really except a bunch of monotonous visuals.Tried to watch it twice, gave up the first time and dozed off the second time. Don't waste time watching it.Very pointless.
I was looking forward to it but really was quite rubbish. No character development, no plot, no dialog, no anything really except a bunch of monotonous visuals.Tried to watch it twice, gave up the first time and dozed off the second time. Don't waste time watching it.Very pointless.
Lost At Sea
cranksamillion26 April 2022
Compare the critics' score to the user score.
Many people who are well-versed in the appreciation of art say that this film is hypnotic, disgusting, captivating and terrifying... a unique and profound experience.
Meanwhile, one guy gave it a 1-star review because the poster looked like a horror film poster but isn't wasn't a horror film. Another guy gave it a 1-star review because it claims to be a documentary, but it doesn't have narration.
If their 12-year-old niece or nephew could make this film as those people claim, they probably should have: maybe their walls would be lined with awards, too.
Many people who are well-versed in the appreciation of art say that this film is hypnotic, disgusting, captivating and terrifying... a unique and profound experience.
Meanwhile, one guy gave it a 1-star review because the poster looked like a horror film poster but isn't wasn't a horror film. Another guy gave it a 1-star review because it claims to be a documentary, but it doesn't have narration.
If their 12-year-old niece or nephew could make this film as those people claim, they probably should have: maybe their walls would be lined with awards, too.
What a waste of my time.
glenn00228 October 2013
Warning: Spoilers
You have got to be kidding me!!! What an absolute piece of garbage This would have to go down as the biggest waste of money and time ever in the history of film making. I spent the first 20 minutes watching nets being pulled up onto a boat in the dark with some weird colouring going on, no narrative, no subtitles to let you know what was happening. It got to the stage where I was fast forwarding through the film hoping to find something of interest, some voice or something other than weird angled shots of fish being gutted. I quit in disgust and watched a good comedy instead to brighten my mood up. Seriously folks, don't waste your time on this rubbish you will be very, very, very disappointed!If it was possible to give a score lower than 1 I would do it in an instant.
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