This article was originally published in print in Fireflies Issue #4: Pedro Costa / Ben Rivers (purchase here), and has been posted here with the generosity of the magazine's editors.Origin of the SpeciesAs the titles of This Is My Land (2006) appear on the black screen, we hear Jake Williams’ voice: a song hum-mumbled that reminds me of my father ironing. I like him instantly. When we eventually see Williams, two leaves obscure his forehead and mouth as if to say, this is as close as you’re going to get, or maybe, aren’t these leaves nice, shouldn’t we all spend more time in the woods, playing with leaves? He holds the pose as though instructed. After a few minutes, we get Williams’ first words as he stands in front of his house in the forest: “If you want to make a hedge but you’re not in a big hurry,...
- 11/8/2016
- MUBI
The Brothers Ben Find Supernal Solace On The Fringe
There are creative collaborations and there are perfect unions. The newly born cinematic relationship between experimental documentarians Ben Russell (Let Each One Go Where He May) and Ben Rivers (Two Years At Sea) seems to be the latter. Their first feature together, A Spell To Ward Off The Darkness, lets the inclinations of both artists meld into one pensively celebrative journey into the outskirts that sees the human spirit glow in the shadow of societal norms. Part reflexive documentary and part narrative fabrication, the film follows the existential exploration of a nameless journeyman (played by real-life musician Robert A.A. Lowe) in three parts – from an island-bound commune in Estonia, to the solitary seclusion of the Finnish backwoods, and finally to the dark depths of a rock club in Norway where he joins fellow black metal musicians on stage in a breathtaking...
There are creative collaborations and there are perfect unions. The newly born cinematic relationship between experimental documentarians Ben Russell (Let Each One Go Where He May) and Ben Rivers (Two Years At Sea) seems to be the latter. Their first feature together, A Spell To Ward Off The Darkness, lets the inclinations of both artists meld into one pensively celebrative journey into the outskirts that sees the human spirit glow in the shadow of societal norms. Part reflexive documentary and part narrative fabrication, the film follows the existential exploration of a nameless journeyman (played by real-life musician Robert A.A. Lowe) in three parts – from an island-bound commune in Estonia, to the solitary seclusion of the Finnish backwoods, and finally to the dark depths of a rock club in Norway where he joins fellow black metal musicians on stage in a breathtaking...
- 12/1/2014
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
As everyone knows, films are generally the product of a team of artisans and technicians, a conspicuous collaboration between the nebulous nature of art and the mechanical makeup of industry, but for Ben Rivers, filmmaking is a personal, one man expedition into the unknown. Armed with a 16 mm hand held camera and an eye for poetic austerity, Rivers ventures into the backwoods of Scotland to film a kindred heart in a burly self-sustaining recluse named Jake Williams for his first feature, Two Years at Sea. In doing, he returned to the terra incognita where he lensed This Is My Land and a segment of I Know Where I’m Going, a pair of shorts that broaden his experimental cinema work while harkening back to Robert Flaherty’s one man operation of Nanook of the North, but without the hands-on direction or the cloistered cultural fascination of his documentary forefather. Rivers...
- 8/7/2013
- by Jordan M. Smith
- IONCINEMA.com
Ben Rivers' Two Years At Sea documentary with Jake Williams will be distributed by Cinema Guild on U.S. soil, reports Variety. The Soda Pictures black and white film seen at the New York Film Festival, opened in UK theaters from May 4th. Two Years At Sea follows a man called Jake who lives in the middle of the forest. He goes for walks in whatever the weather, and takes naps in the misty fields and woods. He builds a raft to spend time sitting in a loch. He sleeps in a caravan that floats up a tree. He is seen in all seasons, surviving frugally, passing the time with strange projects, living the radical dream he had as a younger man, a dream he spent two years working at sea to realize.
- 10/10/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
Ben Rivers' Two Years At Sea documentary with Jake Williams will be distributed by Cinema Guild on U.S. soil, reports Variety. The Soda Pictures black and white film seen at the New York Film Festival, opened in UK theaters from May 4th. Two Years At Sea follows a man called Jake who lives in the middle of the forest. He goes for walks in whatever the weather, and takes naps in the misty fields and woods. He builds a raft to spend time sitting in a loch. He sleeps in a caravan that floats up a tree. He is seen in all seasons, surviving frugally, passing the time with strange projects, living the radical dream he had as a younger man, a dream he spent two years working at sea to realize.
- 10/10/2012
- Upcoming-Movies.com
September is here again, and it's time to delve into the cinematic bounty of the Wavelengths section of the Toronto International Film Festival, that rambunctious and idiosyncratic corner of the Reitman Machine largely cordoned off from commercial concerns and set aside for lovely and sometimes difficult film art. Despite the ever-changing profile of Tiff, stalwart programmer Andréa Picard has [cue needle-scratching-record sound] What? Yes, last year at this time, the avant-garde community thought we were seeing Ms. Picard leaving this position behind. Fortunately for us all, Tiff won her back.
And this is where things get interesting. Starting with this 2012 edition of the festival, the Wavelengths section is a much more broadly based, festival-wide category. In essence, it now subsumes the old Visions designation, which was Tiff’s home for formally challenging, feature-length arthouse fare. This merger, which may seem like a bit of a shotgun wedding to some, does in fact make sense.
And this is where things get interesting. Starting with this 2012 edition of the festival, the Wavelengths section is a much more broadly based, festival-wide category. In essence, it now subsumes the old Visions designation, which was Tiff’s home for formally challenging, feature-length arthouse fare. This merger, which may seem like a bit of a shotgun wedding to some, does in fact make sense.
- 9/11/2012
- MUBI
Two Years at Sea
Directed by Ben Rivers
UK, 2011
The most appealing aspect of video artist Ben Rivers’ debut feature is its intentionally grainy, monochrome 16mm cinematography, providing a dreamy quality to a curiously beautiful visual aesthetic. Two Years at Sea immerses the viewer in the gentle rhythms of the life of hermit Jake Williams, who lives a life of solitude in a remote forest in the north of Scotland. Free of words bar Williams’ occasional mutterings and lyrics in recorded music he plays, the film slowly showcases the man’s activity and creates a unique portrait of a lifestyle of extreme solitude; we follow his daily routines, his chores in his derelict home, his wandering about the local land, his fishing aboard an inflatable raft and even his slow drifting off to sleep.
The insight into this extreme lifestyle is initially very interesting, as are the film’s very...
Directed by Ben Rivers
UK, 2011
The most appealing aspect of video artist Ben Rivers’ debut feature is its intentionally grainy, monochrome 16mm cinematography, providing a dreamy quality to a curiously beautiful visual aesthetic. Two Years at Sea immerses the viewer in the gentle rhythms of the life of hermit Jake Williams, who lives a life of solitude in a remote forest in the north of Scotland. Free of words bar Williams’ occasional mutterings and lyrics in recorded music he plays, the film slowly showcases the man’s activity and creates a unique portrait of a lifestyle of extreme solitude; we follow his daily routines, his chores in his derelict home, his wandering about the local land, his fishing aboard an inflatable raft and even his slow drifting off to sleep.
The insight into this extreme lifestyle is initially very interesting, as are the film’s very...
- 5/29/2012
- by Josh Slater-Williams
- SoundOnSight
Winner of an international critics' prize at Venice, this grainy, monochrome documentary records the solitary, silent life of Jake Williams, a hirsute hermit of indeterminate age living in squalor in the Scottish highlands. There are long takes of him in his primitive shower, walking in the snow, building a raft, annotating an undisclosed book, sitting in the dark before a fire. How he came to be there, what he's thinking, how he can afford a smart 4x4 are questions left unanswered. It's a contemplative film, and most members of the audience are likely to be contemplating how they can get out of the cinema without appearing to be philistines.
DocumentaryVenice film festivalPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
DocumentaryVenice film festivalPhilip French
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds...
- 5/5/2012
- by Philip French
- The Guardian - Film News
American Pie: Reunion (15)
(Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, 2012, Us) Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, Alyson Hannigan. 113 mins
It's rare to see teen-movie characters all grown up, and this illustrates the reason why: they just make us feel old. The gang's all here, reverting to their old non-pc habits even as they mourn their lost youth. It's patchy and often dodgy comedy, but there's still something heartening about Stifler's defiant idiocy and Jim's dad's middle-age second chance.
Safe (15)
(Boaz Yakin, 2012, Us) Jason Statham, Catherine Chan. 94 mins
Triads, Russian mobsters, cops and everyone else in New York falls foul of Statham in another ludicrous but fast-moving actioner.
Two Years At Sea (U)
(Ben Rivers, 2012, UK) Jake Williams. 90 mins
Extraordinary, otherworldly observation of a modern-day Scottish hermit.
Goodbye First Love (15)
(Mia Hansen-Løve, 2011, Fra/Ger) Lola Créton, Sebastian Urzendowsky. 111 mins
Heartfelt study of a young teen's formative romantic fortunes.
The Lucky One (12A)
(Scott Hicks,...
(Jon Hurwitz, Hayden Schlossberg, 2012, Us) Jason Biggs, Seann William Scott, Eugene Levy, Alyson Hannigan. 113 mins
It's rare to see teen-movie characters all grown up, and this illustrates the reason why: they just make us feel old. The gang's all here, reverting to their old non-pc habits even as they mourn their lost youth. It's patchy and often dodgy comedy, but there's still something heartening about Stifler's defiant idiocy and Jim's dad's middle-age second chance.
Safe (15)
(Boaz Yakin, 2012, Us) Jason Statham, Catherine Chan. 94 mins
Triads, Russian mobsters, cops and everyone else in New York falls foul of Statham in another ludicrous but fast-moving actioner.
Two Years At Sea (U)
(Ben Rivers, 2012, UK) Jake Williams. 90 mins
Extraordinary, otherworldly observation of a modern-day Scottish hermit.
Goodbye First Love (15)
(Mia Hansen-Løve, 2011, Fra/Ger) Lola Créton, Sebastian Urzendowsky. 111 mins
Heartfelt study of a young teen's formative romantic fortunes.
The Lucky One (12A)
(Scott Hicks,...
- 5/4/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Ben Rivers' film is about a man who lives in a remote Scottish house. We follow his daily life – but don't know why. Welcome to 'slow cinema'
This could be the least glamorous wrap party in the history of cinema. It is 2am, and we're sitting around a dying fire, sipping tea and whisky in the middle of a pine forest in Aberdeenshire, in the junk-strewn courtyard of an old farmhouse. The house belongs to Jake Williams, wiry, bright-eyed and with an impressive white beard. He's the movie's star; or, rather, he's the only person in it. Opposite him sit the crew: director Ben Rivers and sound recordist Chu-li Shewring. That's it. They have just finished shooting the final scene of Rivers' first feature: a close-up of Williams staring into the fire as it slowly dies. They've shot it twice tonight, adding bits of car tyre (it gives off a nice,...
This could be the least glamorous wrap party in the history of cinema. It is 2am, and we're sitting around a dying fire, sipping tea and whisky in the middle of a pine forest in Aberdeenshire, in the junk-strewn courtyard of an old farmhouse. The house belongs to Jake Williams, wiry, bright-eyed and with an impressive white beard. He's the movie's star; or, rather, he's the only person in it. Opposite him sit the crew: director Ben Rivers and sound recordist Chu-li Shewring. That's it. They have just finished shooting the final scene of Rivers' first feature: a close-up of Williams staring into the fire as it slowly dies. They've shot it twice tonight, adding bits of car tyre (it gives off a nice,...
- 4/26/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
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