The Vessel
A tidal wave destroys a small-town elementary school and washes 46 children out to sea. Ten years later, a young man builds a mysterious structure out of the school's remains, setting the town aflame with passions long forgotten.
1 November 1951, New York City, New York, USA
3 August 1940, Dayton, Ohio, USA
24 March 1961, Caguas, Puerto Rico
22 May 1972, Guayama, Puerto Rico
7 November 1944, San Juan, Puerto Rico
October 31, 2016
Even with Martin Sheen's impressive Chris Cringle facial hair, The Vessel annoys and irritates more than anything else. The film may be alluring to look at, but it's absolutely torturous to endure and practically unbearable to watch.
September 15, 2016
A modest, but not maudlin, parable of hope about mustering the strength to vigorously plunge again into life's uncertainties after a devastating loss.
September 14, 2016
We keep waiting for the film to wash over us, and it never quite does.
October 14, 2016
The Vessel is a gorgeously lensed parable. It's just that its messages and symbolism are so heavy-handed, so laden with biblical meaning, they're never left to work their own miracles.
December 19, 2016
Julio Quintana turns his camera into an omniscient eye, while raising exciting questions about the distance between tragedy and miracle. [Full review in Spanish]
September 21, 2016
Whatever his influences, Quintana has made his own, fine thing: a quietly powerful depiction of the what is required to rekindle hope in the hopeless.
September 15, 2016
It's a strange brew: stark yet beautiful, urgent yet dreamlike.
November 07, 2016
A clear and obvious example of the difficulty of conveying messages of spiritual transcendence through cinema. [Full review in Spanish]
September 19, 2016
... a dull, slow paced and unsatisfying movie.
September 15, 2016
This muted, moving small-scale tale of sorrow and faith will strike a chord with both the churchgoing crowd and aficionados of Malick's contemplative, theologically predisposed cinema.
September 19, 2016
A moving and emotional production.
September 15, 2016
Quintana's emphasis on Jungian dream logic gives his otherwise spartan parable a compelling mythic dimension.
