Leviathan. 2012. USA/France/Great Britain. Directed by Lucien Castaing-Taylor, Véréna Paravel. DCP. 87 min.
Castaing-Taylor and Paravel’s tense, foreboding documentary takes place off the coast of New Bedford, in waters once described by Herman Melville, where an ordinary fishing trawler mines the unfathomable depths for its daily catch. You hear the whipping wind, the metallic snaps of the winches, and the heavy metal music favored by the young fishermen. Days and nights are similarly dark as the fishermen are forever hoping to locate a school of fish big enough to cover their expenses, with some left over. Clearly theirs is a dying industry in the 21st century, yet their commitment, either by necessity or choice, is mesmerizing.