Movie

Vertigo Sea

2015 · 48 min

A slow, immersive meditation on the sea's beauty and cruelty, blending archival and original footage into a haunting, thought-provoking experience.

Directed by: John Akomfrah
Genres: Documentary

Overview: Vertigo Sea is a three-screen film installation that explores what Ralph Waldo Emerson calls 'the sublime seas'. Fusing archival material, readings from classical sources and newly shot footage, Akomfrah's piece focuses on the disorder and cruelty of the whaling industry and juxtaposes it with scenes of many generations of migrants making epic crossings of the ocean for a better life.

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In the UKNo streaming, rental or purchase options known.

Directed by: John Akomfrah
Genres: Documentary

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How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone: bleakstrength 3 of 3
melancholicstrength 3 of 3
eeriestrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
Pacing: slow-burn, 1 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: demanding, 4 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: nature
environment
survival
violence
race
Places: sea
wilderness
Era: timeless
Audience: adult
Form: nonlinear
documentary
anthology
Content intensity: Gore mild
Language none
Violence strong
Sex none

All scales, 0 to 10

Scales, 0 to 10
Scale	Value	0 to 10
Action	2
Horror	4
Humour	0
Realism	7
Romance	0
Tension	5
Darkness	8
Complexity	8
Emotional weight	9

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Where to watch in the UK

No UK streaming, rental or purchase options are known.

Streaming data from JustWatch.TMDB

Details

Genres: documentary
Directed by: John Akomfrah
Runtime: 48 min
Country: United Kingdom

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Vertigo Sea

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