This documentary on the temporary art work Andy Goldsworthy is like watching one of the rivers he builds near, sometimes it enthralls you and other times it bores you depending on your mood. I've tried this film two or three times now and I can not get into it. While I find the film extremely beautiful and well made, its wandering nature dulls my senses to the point of sleep and I find that just about the time we go home with him I turn off the DVD and swear I'll pick it up again later, though I never do. The problem for me is that for a good portion of the first part of the film, the part I've watched repeatedly, we don't really get to see anything other than Andy creating. This is all well and good, but it doesn't explain why anyone would commission this guy to go onto the shores of Nova Scotia and build things no one will ever see since time and tide will destroy them. I know the answers come later and I know that much of what comes later is quite beautiful, having jumped ahead, but the pacing seems completely off and twenty minutes in I'm ready for a nap. I'm probably no judge of this, but I think its worth a try, even if I'm not sure that I really have gotten anything out of this film. Ah well, maybe next time.
Review of Rivers and Tides
