13 Lakes

Due to the experimental nature of the film, it did not receive a theatrical release, but has been distributed by Canyon Cinema.

In 2014, it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

For the entire duration of the scene, with mountains visible in the distance, two jet skis circle the body of water.

In the far distance, a sailing ship enters the scene from the left and disappears from view as it nears the center of the shot.

Thunder is heard throughout the scene as rain clouds emerge from the right side of the shot and float leftwards.

[2] James Benning is an American independent filmmaker known for utilizing long takes in his films.

[7] Benning's The United States of America (1975) was described by the Criterion Channel as "one of the major works of the structuralist film movement of the 1970s.

MacDonald regards 13 Lakes as the culmination of Benning's gradually increasing interest in testing the patience of the audience.

[11] Nikolaj Lübecker and Daniele Rugo notice a similarity between the title of 13 Lakes and the works of painter and photographer Edward Ruscha—citing Twentysix Gasoline Stations (1963), Thirtyfour Parking Lots (1967) and Nine Swimming Pools and a Broken Glass (1968) as examples.

[14] Due to the experimental nature of the film, it did not receive a theatrical release, but has been distributed by Canyon Cinema.

John Anderson, writing for Variety, praised the film as a "singular cinematic experience, equally meditative and exciting, and ultimately exhilarating", lauding the film for making the viewer "sit down and notice" the small changes that occur in each shot.

[1] Joshua Land of Time Out gave the film a maximum of five stars, praising Benning's direction and the cinematography which Land called beautiful and "hypnotic", adding "to a momentary glance, it might appear that nothing is 'happening' ... but Benning's brilliant use of real time unlocks their inexhaustible potential.

"[15] Andrew Chan of Slant Magazine lauded both the boldness and serenity of 13 Lakes, praising the cinematography which "reveals itself to be mindfully directed", adding "13 Lakes offers up humility not as a fancy moral pose, but as an acknowledgment that art reflects (rather than transcends) human weakness.

"[4] In 2014, 13 Lakes was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.