"He later self-released it, rejecting a traditional distributor, in an effort to get it in front of more viewers. The film was nominated for six Independent Spirit Awards, four Gotham Awards, and any number of critics' prizes. And then ... nothing. Hammer hasn't made a new film in 18 years. Now, he's returned with Queen at Sea, premiering at this year's Berlin Film Festival, shot in a different style and featuring a trio of veteran performers."
"It opens with Amanda (Juliette Binoche) and her teenage daughter Sara (Florence Hunt) arriving at the home of her elderly mother Leslie (Anna Calder Marshall) and stepfather Martin (Tom Courtenay) and discovering them in bed together. Because Leslie has Alzheimer's and cannot give consent, Martin has been warned not to have sex with her. In her anger and hasty desperation, Amanda calls the police, which sets in motion an elaborate bureaucratic process."
In 2008 Lance Hammer broke out at Sundance with Ballast, a somber Mississippi Delta drama produced over several years with non-professional actors. That film earned multiple nominations and Hammer self-released it to reach more viewers. Hammer did not direct another film for 18 years. He returned with Queen at Sea, premiering at the Berlin Film Festival, filmed in a different style yet retaining patient, quiet, observational qualities. The plot follows Amanda and her teenage daughter Sara as they confront Amanda's elderly mother Leslie's Alzheimer's after discovering Leslie and stepfather Martin in bed, triggering police involvement, bureaucratic probes, Martin's arrest, and Amanda and Sara moving in to provide care amid generational tensions.
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