Boatbuilders

shookone2.0

the US indy documentary scene finds his love for the working class again. Lorentzen doesn't really get close to his protagonists unfortunately, only two scenes stick out: the company board (consisting of workers themselves) has to let someone go, and doesn't do this easy heartedly. and the boat is finally given to the new owner (with a massive laugh), obviously upper class. two worlds smash but interestingly mesh better than you'd expect, making Boatbuilders a film of appeasement, looking for similarities between our current worlds of aggressive devision./// Venezia 83 ///

rae rae3.5

what a treat to see this before noon on a sunny autumn day. always skip work if you can, folks, movies are more important. boatbuilders is as hypnotic, tactile, and fluid as waves crashing against the new england shore. on the surface, there's not much conflict (matching the energy of project manager and extremely chill dude, trent) but the film still introduces commentary on class and the intersection of wealth and mastery in its own understated style. the only time we see a disruption in that rhythm is when their affluent client arrives for "his" boat; these men who have the specialized knowledge to allow humans to traverse the seas are then reduced to "the help," at the mercy of a benefactor they're at least a million over budget for. the final shot is a beautiful meditation on the relationship between nature and the things we create with our hands, as the harbor and man-made materials fuse together into a singular organic image. trent's a duck, graham's a hyena, the boat's a whale, and their craftsmanship makes the artificial come to life.

eli4.5

A beautiful Malickian exploration of labor as an art form and the effects of late-stage capitalism on craftsmen's industries.