Film Forum

“Ravishingly beautiful,” “fragile,” and “luminous” were used to describe Andy Goldsworthy’s art in Thomas Riedelsheimer’s earlier film, RIVERS AND TIDES. Now, 16 years later, the filmmaker’s sequel records the British artist (and Holly, his daughter and assistant) working in dense forests and lush jungles, urban settings, and idyllic grain-filled fields where he creates site-specific art using the most mundane of nature’s resources: mud, leaves, bark, sheep (!), rocks, clay, and bracken. His understated, yet precise artistry is never less than mesmerizing -- whether “painting” his hands with red or gold leaves, using heavy machinery to cleave massive boulders, or “swimming” through a daunting thicket. With music by the inimitable Fred Frith.

Presented with support from the Helen Frankenthaler Endowed Fund for Films on Art

GERMANY • 2016 • 93 MINS. • IN ENGLISH • MAGNOLIA PICTURES

Reviews

“Nothing short of extraordinary, LEANING INTO THE WIND, rekindles the captivating observation of English artist Andy Goldsworthy.”
– Kerry Levielle, IndieWire

“Goldsworthy’s work is in some respects reminiscent of the poems of Ted Hughes: it’s convulsively spontaneous, endlessly enthusiastic about natural forms, and extraordinarily prolific. Goldsworthy’s major themes (are) flow change, mortality itself. Goldsworthy’s most powerful images…recognize the inevitability of decay while making a plea for fixity; they celebrate surfaces while discovering  whatever it is that surfaces conceal.” 
– Andrew Motion, The New York Review of Books

“Marvelous. A study in seeing. A contemplative beauty.”
– Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice

 “Once again, the percussively primordial jazz soundtrack that intensifies the sense of wonder and discovery onscreen is composed and performed by Fred Frith.”
– Susan Wioszczyna, rogerebert.com

 “Formally restrained but visually resplendent.”
– Chris Barsanti, Film Journal

“Awe-inspiring!”
– Bedatri D. Choudhury, Hyperallergic

“Not so much a sequel to as simply an extension of the prior film, RIVERS AND TIDES: ANDY GOLDSWORTHY WORKING WITH TIME, shares the same meditative, episodic, visually seductive appeal. Both films have a pleasantly meandering tenor. His work enchants so many because it isn’t self-contained - rather than contrasting with its surroundings, it highlights them with a mixture of surprise and integration. Attracted to the intersection between artistic expression, nature, and spirituality, Riedelsheimer is well-matched to Goldsworthy’s methods and interests. He fruitfully brings back composer Fred Frith, who contributes another diverse, imaginative chamber score.”
– Dennis Harvey, Variety