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5.7/10
Senior Film Conservator
A definitive 5.7/10 rating for a film that redefined the boundaries of cult cinema. Granton Trawler remains a cornerstone of transgressive art.
If you like documentaries that don't try to be fancy, watch this. If you need a plot or someone to hold your hand through the history, you’ll probably get bored in five minutes. It’s just the sea, the boat, and guys working until they look like they’re made of granite.
There’s something about the way the camera just sits there on the deck. It doesn't flinch when the waves smack the hull. It feels like you are standing there, freezing, trying not to slide off the wet wood.
They didn’t overdub everything with a fake score, which is a massive relief. You get the real mechanical groan of the ship. It’s loud and repetitive. Honestly, it’s kind of hypnotic once you get used to it. 🌊
Watching the net go over the side is wild. It looks like a giant, messy curtain being dropped into a washing machine. You realize pretty quick that this isn't a vacation. It’s heavy, dangerous work that probably pays peanuts.
I found myself thinking about John Grierson while watching. He had this way of making the everyday stuff look like a epic struggle. It’s a bit like how Paris Asleep captures a city in a weird, quiet state of suspension, but this is way grittier and smells like dead fish.
There is this one shot—just a few seconds long—where a fisherman stares right at the lens. He isn't acting. He just looks tired. It makes you wonder what he was thinking about. Maybe he was just wondering why there was a guy with a camera standing in the way of his job.
It’s not a masterpiece. It’s just a piece of time caught on film. Sometimes that’s enough.
It’s definitely not as light as Pettigrew's Girl, but you probably knew that already. If you want to see what hard work actually looked like back then, give it a go. Just bring a sweater.