A film essay that approaches cinema as a water current, revisiting a body of previous essay films through the recurring image of water—rivers, seas, tides, and flows—to explore cinema as a fluid space of memory, movement, and transformation.
The film’s dour tone is mirrored by its predominantly grey colour palette. But the raw desire between Jack and Daniel is sensitively evoked.
K
Kevin Maher
RTThe Times (UK)Jul 25, 2026
Ward here proves such a powerful, achingly sympathetic presence that he carries any quirks with ease.
D
Danny Leigh
RTFinancial TimesJul 24, 2026
Echoes of Brokeback Mountain and God’s Own Country abound. But On the Sea has powerful enough moments to be heard over them: a set of fine performances; eloquent photography of a landscape at once expansive and hemmed in.
J
James Mottram
RTRadio TimesJul 31, 2026
The stormy backdrop, the tight-knit community and two intense turns from Ward and MacFadyen lend this brooding drama something vivid.
