Leviathan (Trailer)

Leviathan explores life on a commercial fishing vessel through a surreal, ruminative assemblage of images. With neither dialogue nor narration, the documentary is as much a visual poem as it is a work of journalism. Directors Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel spent two months aboard fishing vessels off the coast of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Using GoPro cameras, they focus on the minute details of contemporary seafaring: preparing equipment, sorting catches, gutting fish, and discarding waste into the sea. They peer into the dark recesses of the ship and plunge beneath the waves.

Adding to the distinctive visual aesthetic, the filmmakers linger on extended shots, position cameras upside down, and use lower-quality lenses to produce obscured imagery. The result is a succession of images that are simultaneously lyrical and blunt. Leviathan lays bare the stark, often brutal, conditions endured by commercial fishers. It is also a meditation on nature and humankind’s place in the world.