Leviathan is a documentary from Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel that depicts the world of the North American fishing industry. Except, it’s not really a documentary. There are no talking heads, no plot, no story, no characters, and no meaningful dialogue whatsoever. Leviathan is a purely sensory experience. The many extended shots, some of which…

Sweetgrass, Ilisa Barbash and Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s documentary feature, should be subtitled: The Death of the Cowboy. For that is essentially what we witness: the end of an era, a way of life, a centuries-old practice.