Bucks Harbor Review: The Men of Maine

Tracking the colourful but harsh lives of residents of a coastal town in Maine, Bucks Harbor is an entrancing depiction of masculinity in a remote area of the world.

Seascraper, Benjamin Wood’s 2025 English-set novel about a man trawling for shrimp, might take place in a different place to Bucks Harbor, but both film and book capture their respective worlds perfectly, both in their adversity and majesty.

Generations of family exist throughout Bucks Harbor, which is situated in Downeast Maine. As we follow a number of men—some only in their thirties, others pushing closer to the 70s or 80s—we witness how their fathers defined them, and how they are in turn defining their own children, if they have them. One thing all of these men have in common is their trade: fishing for lobsters. It’s a harsh, male-dominated world of strict codes and back-breaking work. Bucks Harbor isn’t just an exercise in brutality though; it also shows the humane sides to each of these men, and how their positive and negative traits were distilled in them by their parents.

In turn, one family has two young boys. A notable point in Bucks Harbor comes when the mother and father of the youngest, who is only 12, discuss when he will begin taking on more responsibility for the fishing. They want him to be a kid for as long as possible, but also recognise the necessity of work that will come to dictate his life. It’s an enthralling, often heartbreaking situation to witness, and Muller acts as a respectful observer. The camera lingers only when necessary, never pushing judgement on the people onscreen or viewpoints upon the audience.

Two characters stand out: Dave, a single man living with his dog Petey and now clean after years of drug addiction; and Mark, a happily married father who dresses in women’s clothes and posts videos on TikTok. Bucks Harbors’ themes are seen most furtively within these two men. Dave is a characterful man with a sparkle in his eye and an infectious laugh, but the loss of his father 11 years ago still hangs heavily over him. He has a good relationship with his mother, but misses that male presence in his life. Meanwhile, Mark’s love for wearing dresses and makeup goes against the traditional attitudes that inform so much of life in Bucks Harbor. Muller eloquently shows how attitudes are changing in the 2020s when compared to the mid-1900s, but that there is still that underlying expectation of what a man should be like.

These moving stories are told against the coastal and rural backdrops of Maine. Muller, Nathan Golon and Mark Unger on co-cinematography duties utilise wide shots in artful ways to capture the awe-inspiring environment that these people live in. Nature becomes both their friend and their foe, as capable of ending their lives as it is of shaping them. The photography of Bucks Harbor is truly gorgeous, but the main memorability of the documentary comes from these intensely real character portraits that we witness over its runtime. 

Bucks Harbor premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on February ,14-22 2026. Read our Berlin Film Festival reviews and our list of 20 films to watch at the 2026 Berlin Film Festival!