Life on a towboat is the subject of the visually striking documentary, Barge, and in addition to seeing the day-to-day grind of life on the river, the movie also spends time acquainting us with the men who work there. Most of them want to build careers on the boat, which is possible since promotions are more or less guaranteed as long as you show initiative. The biggest perk, aside from being paid well, is that you get to enjoy the solitude of the open water for months at a time. The movie vividly shows how the captain gets to see the sunrise and sunset daily, the only sound coming from the roar of the boat as it plows through the water. We can sense hints of loneliness in some of the workers, something they are willing to endure in hopes of making enough money to buy a house or a nice car. There is camaraderie among these men, living in the confines of the boat, and yet it seems subtle, as if they only communicate when necessary.
The job responsibilities of a towboat worker are not especially compelling to watch, but director Ben Powell is able to maintain interest due to the often stunning cinematography (he even manages to give visual weight to an old tethered rope). The real highlight of the picture, though, are the stories the workers tell. Not all of them are there under the same circumstances; it ranges from following in family footsteps to an ex-convict looking for a second chance. You get the impression watching them work and listening to them share insights that this is more than just a job...it's who they are, and without it, there wouldn't be much else.
While Barge does run a feature length 71 minutes, I think it would be even stronger as a short. After about 45 minutes, seeing the work routine grows repetitive, as do the stories being shared. Powell does such a thorough job packing in lots of informative footage up front that in the end, less would be more. Even despite this, Barge is an intimate snapshot into a world we often view from afar ("dry land" as it's called in the movie). Our questions are finally given some concrete answers.
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(c)Hell and Beyond, 2015
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