Rivers and Tides (2001)
Mediopolis Film- und Fernsehproduktion

Description

Rivers and Tides is a mesmerizing, poetic and curiously contemplative portrait of revered Scottish sculptor Andy Goldsworthy, whose long-winding rock walls, icicle assemblages and other intricate, druidic masterpieces are made entirely of materials found in the wild. Gorgeously shot and edited by director Thomas Riedelsheimer, Rivers and Tides is an intoxicating study of the fragile relationship between man, art and nature.

Collected reviews and ratings

10 TV Guide | Ken Fox

German filmmaker Thomas Riedelsheimer's breathtakingly beautiful profile of Scottish earthworks-artist Andy Goldsworthy forgoes the conventional biographical approach but captures something far more elusive.
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9.2 DVD Verdict | James A. Stewart

At times, Rivers and Tides seems like a New Age music video, making us concentrate on Riedelsheimer's images rather than Goldsworthy's work. Still, it's an interesting way to present some unusual works of art that you might not otherwise get to see.
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9.0 Amazon user reviews

This film does a fantastic job of exploring the creative process and amazing things that can happen when an artist continues to experiment and look for new opportunities.
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8.0 New York Times | Stephen Holden

As the film's images accumulate, the movie becomes a sustained and ultimately refreshing meditation on surrender to the idea of temporality. So much art is an egotistical attempt to leave behind something that will be contemplated for generations and theoretically for eternity.
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8.0 documentaryfilms.net | David Loftus

Simply in bringing Goldsworthy’s work to a larger audience, especially in presenting his pieces in motion and over time in a way that is nearly impossible with art-book collections of still photographs, Riedelsheimer and his crew have done a marvelous thing.
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7.0 Variety | Dennis Harvey

Casual viewers may think it all could have been captured just as well at subfeature length. Upscale arts tube programming slots rep the likeliest outlet for exposure.
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6.0 BBC | Neil Smith

Tension is surprisingly evoked through the necessity to complete these works before they are destroyed by rising tides, strong winds and other natural phenomena, while unintentional humour comes from Goldsworthy's stoical acceptance of hours of toil decimated in an instant.
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6.0 filmcritic.com | Christopher Null

Rivers and Tides is not a perfect documentary but it's probably the most beautiful film you'll see this year.
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