The Noise of Waters

Splash through a selection of sea-focused cinema at GOMA's free retrospective.
Sarah Ward
December 13, 2019

Overview

From riverbeds and snowmen to watering holes surrounded by animals and sculptures made out of bubbles, water is everywhere at the Gallery of Modern Art at present. The South Bank spot is hosting a huge exhibition with that very name, and throwing a couple of after-hours art parties on the theme — and, from Friday, January 17–Sunday, March, 8, it's also running a free cinema retrospective that'll be filled with seafaring, ocean-dwelling and otherwise H2O-related films.

You're gonna need a bigger boat for this movie season, which is called The Noise of Waters — or a big tolerance for sitting in a darkened room at the very least. Highlights include the beachside terror of Jaws, the quirky marine comedy of Wes Anderson's The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, and the Hollywood-set musical glory of Singin' in the Rain. Catch not one, or two, but three Studio Ghibli flicks, all courtesy of Spirited Away, Ponyo and the studio's co-produced The Red TurtleThe submarine drama of German classic Das Boot and the weird island-set wonders of recent surreal French flick The Wild Boys are on the bill as well, as are Apocalypse Now: Final Cut and dreamlike Aussie apocalyptic effort The Last Wave.

Cinephiles can also watch the Amazon-set Embrace of the Serpent, splash around with erotic psychological drama Stranger by the Lake, revisit 2019 anime hits Weathering with You and Children of the Sea, and journey through Werner Herzog's Aguirre, the Wrath of God. If you're interested in pondering the factual side of the topic, look out for visually stunning doco Aquarela and three episodes of oceanography TV series The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.

Films screen on Wednesday and Friday evenings, as well as during the day on Saturdays and Sundays.

And while the bulk of the program won't cost you a thing, you can spend $15 for two film and music sessions, featuring Buster Keaton's silent 1928 delight Steamboat Bill, Jr and Jean Grémillon's  1929 movie The Lighthouse Keepers — one with a live organ soundtrack, the other with a new contemporary score by Corporate Vibes.

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