French filmmaker Philippe Ramos imagines the backstory of Moby Dick’s most famous character in five chapters, from his escape from a harsh childhood in the New England hinterlands to his final destiny at sea. Starring Denis Lavant.

“Ramos gives Ahab the biography he was denied in the novel, but likewise ends up face to face with the character’s essential mystery, offering us one of the most beautiful imaginings of 19th-century America ever seen in cinema.”—Elisabeth Lequeret, Film Comment Mar/Apr 2008