Leaning Into the Wind: Andy Goldsworthy's reviews
Media reviews
New York Times
The surprise of 'Leaning Into the Wind' is that it's just as concerned with how time has changed Mr. Goldsworthy. [...] The title comes from a kind of performance piece in which the artist leans into extremely high cliff winds and doesn't fall. There's no warning not to try this at home, which is regrettable, given how many viewers the movie seems poised to captivate with Mr. Goldsworthy's worldview.
The Guardian
Throughout, Frith?s sparse, neo-primitivist musical gurglings and tinklings from stringed instruments and what sound like didgeridoos and Theremins enhance the quasi-mystical atmosphere. The same goes for the limpid cinematography, which benefits from the use of drones or cranes to offer spectacular overhead shots, offering perspectives on the work that only filmgoers and God can enjoy.
Indiewire
Riedelsheimer's 'Leaning Into the Wind' is another soothing, vérité portrait of the artist at work, the largely non-narrative documentary flowing behind Goldsworthy like a breeze at his back. Newcomers don't need to worry, as a beguiling sense of dislocation is part of the film's meditative charm. Set to an active, ambient score by Fred Frith and carried downstream by Goldsworthy's soft British drone [...], the film appears less interested in celebrating its subject's work than it does in lulling viewers into a state of contemplative submission.
Roger Ebert
This time, Thomas Riedelsheimer concentrates on showing how his now-61-year-old subject has evolved since they last collaborated. Once again, the percussively primordial jazz soundtrack that intensifies the sense of wonder and discovery onscreen is composed and performed by Fred Frith.
The Washington Post
'Leaning Into the Wind' offers viewers a welcome chance to consider the work of an artist who defies the recent commodification cult to embrace the ephemeral and the nominally "worthless" (...). Goldsworthy?s raw materials are no less than time, memory and the nature of nature itself.
Variety
A nonfiction-focused director and cinematographer frequently attracted to the intersection between artistic expression, nature, and spirituality (however unarticulated), Riedelsheimer is well-matched to Goldsworthy's methods and interests. As in 'Rivers' there is little biographical material here, beyond passing mention of some formative farm-working experiences and a failed first marriage.