QUEEN AT SEA
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Tom Courtenay, Anna Calder-Marshall and Florence Hunt
Director: Lance Hammer
ROBERT
Because aging and death is so universal, it makes for rich, ubiquitous material for storytelling. I wouldn’t necessarily want to rewatch Queen at Sea, but that is because it conveys and picks at our most human fears, leaving us exposed like nerve endings. My heart never mended from the start, watching this patchwork family struggle to contend with a woman’s debilitating illness and how to understand what she wants and needs, for now and the future. It was gracefully acted, and how the camerawork was able to create feelings of disjointedness and emptiness for each character was striking; just expect to feel the same.
QUENTIN
Queen at Sea is yet another arthouse drama that is impeccably acted, incredibly thought-provoking, deeply honest, and unflinchingly raw. It’s a movie tailor-made for the film festival circuit, and I will never watch it again. If I’m being honest, I’m not fully sure I’d even recommend it to most people. Yes, I heap loads of praise on all the things I mentioned above; however, the film is dour and depressing, which doesn’t make for a particularly enjoyable viewing experience, and that is without me getting into some of the film’s flaws, like laggy pacing and a subplot that fills like filler.
