Rotten Tomatoes Submit search Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

The Vessel

Play trailer Poster for The Vessel PG-13 2016 1h 26m Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
67% Tomatometer 18 Reviews 43% Popcornmeter 100+ Ratings
A tidal wave destroys a small-town elementary school and washes 46 children out to sea. Over the next 10 years, music, dancing, fireworks and childbirth all vanish from the village, which is locked in perpetual mourning. One night, a young man named Leo slips off the pier and drowns but mysteriously revives three hours later. The townspeople wonder if this is a sign from God when Leo feels compelled to build a mysterious structure out of the school's remains.
Watch on Fandango Stream Now

Where to Watch

The Vessel

Critics Reviews

View More
Matthew Lickona San Diego Reader 09/21/2016
3/5
Whatever his influences, Quintana has made his own, fine thing: a quietly powerful depiction of the what is required to rekindle hope in the hopeless. Go to Full Review Nell Minow Movie Mom 09/15/2016
B+
Gentle, poetic, touching. Go to Full Review Andy Webster New York Times 09/15/2016
A modest, but not maudlin, parable of hope about mustering the strength to vigorously plunge again into life's uncertainties after a devastating loss. Go to Full Review Nathanael Hood Audiences Everywhere 12/27/2018
B
Julio Quintana's The Vessel is a gorgeous, lyrical film about faith that's more interested in questions than in answers. Go to Full Review Jordi Costa El Pais (Spain) 12/19/2016
Julio Quintana turns his camera into an omniscient eye, while raising exciting questions about the distance between tragedy and miracle. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Carlos Marañón Cinemanía (Spain) 11/07/2016
2/5
A clear and obvious example of the difficulty of conveying messages of spiritual transcendence through cinema. [Full review in Spanish] Go to Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More
Chris P @RT06285801 Mar 29 I wasn't too sure where this movie was going. Confused at times but in the end it all came around and just clicked. Good movie, worth the watch. See more Stephen C @bob25009 05/28/2025 The entire cast failed in just 1 hour and 26 minutes!!!!!!!!!!!!!! See more 03/20/2019 Beautiful, contemplative, redemptive. See more 10/08/2017 The Vessel est un film porto-ricain assez étrange en raison de son approche mais malgré tout, le message voulu passe bien et la réalisation est réussie mais le côté contemplatif du film ne plaira pas à tout le monde. See more 06/21/2017 I started to watch out of curiosity for a new movie from Martin Sheen and got hooked by the muted emotions depicted in the film, sadness, loss, resignation, love and catarsis. Beautiful and very delicate photography of the sea and the skies and perfect accompanying music. Parallelly, Martin Sheen does a good representation of a pastor who tries to influence, not sure if with much success, a small community to which he is a stranger. See more Stephen S @GDLSkorne 03/11/2017 Confusing as hell and not particularly interesting. This is really just an extremely pretentious film. See more Read all reviews
The Vessel

My Rating

Read More Read Less WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW POST RATING

Cast & Crew

View All

Julio Quintana

Director

Martin Sheen

Father Douglas

Lucas Quintana

Leo

Jacqueline Duprey

Fidelia

Aris Mejias

Soraya

Hiram Delgado

Gabriel

More Like This

View All
Wildlife 94% 71% Wildlife Watchlist TRAILER for Wildlife The 33 49% 59% The 33 Watchlist TRAILER for The 33 Spare Parts 58% 82% Spare Parts Watchlist TRAILER for Spare Parts Restless 36% 48% Restless Watchlist So B. It 50% 92% So B. It Watchlist TRAILER for So B. It Discover more movies and TV shows. View More
View All

The Vessel

The Vessel (2016) The Vessel (2016) The Vessel (2016) Lucas Quintana as Leo in "The Vessel." Lucas Quintana as Leo in "The Vessel." View more photos

Movie Info

Synopsis A tidal wave destroys a small-town elementary school and washes 46 children out to sea. Over the next 10 years, music, dancing, fireworks and childbirth all vanish from the village, which is locked in perpetual mourning. One night, a young man named Leo slips off the pier and drowns but mysteriously revives three hours later. The townspeople wonder if this is a sign from God when Leo feels compelled to build a mysterious structure out of the school's remains.
Director
Julio Quintana
Producer
Marla Quintana
Screenwriter
Julio Quintana
Distributor
Outsider Pictures
Production Co
New Territory Pictures, Rockafellow Films, P&R Productions
Rating
PG-13 (Thematic Elements|Some Partial Nudity/Sensuality)
Genre
Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Sep 16, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Feb 2, 2017
Runtime
1h 26m
Join The Newsletter Join The Newsletter Cookie Settings