Geographical Implications in the A River Runs Through It - Movie Review Example

Geographical Implications in the Movie ‘A River Runs Through It' The award-winning drama movie directed by Robert Redford features the American family of a Presbyterian minister with his two sons Norman MacLean and Paul MacLean growing up in the 1920s in Missoula, Montana. The episode has its basis focusing on a true story, the play shows how the two boys grew up together with fun memories of fly-fishing but they eventually part ways where Norman decides to move east and pursue college studies leaving his rebellious brother behind to ‘find trouble’ back at home. The dual finally reunites when Norman returns from college, and they resume their fishing outings while assessing their lives (Robert). The movie setting features a number of spectacular geographical backgrounds that would amaze even the hard-hearted. One of these spectacular scenes that I just have to begin with is the part where the two brothers are fly-fishing. The producers made the best out of these amazing geographical scenes by using a combination of effective camera positioning to capture the background and adjacent lighting. As included in the original novel wrote by Norman MacLean back in 1976, the film claims to have been acted on the Blackfoot river in Montana, a geographical feature stretching from the continental divide in Lewis all the way to Clark Fork covering an average of 120 kilometers. Though this is not necessarily included in the movie, the river draws its waters from both springs and snow water further up in western Montana. The setting of the movie particularly the fly fishing scene displays one of the geographical features that are common with rivers: erosion (Robert). We see that most of the riverbank is covered with smoothened rocks ranging from small rocks to large ones. This can be attributed to the rivers’ erosive nature during transportation be it due to hydraulic action, abrasion or corrosion, corrosion or attrition. The production team in this movie was probably motivated by the fact that other than the information received from the cast, the environment would also be in a position to ‘show off’ and reveal a beautiful nature vested in our country. Moving on to yet another spectacular scene chosen by the production team, we find geographical features like river rapids being applied when the boys get a little naughty with the boat. The dual in their teenage row down this rigorous river in such movements that depict that the riverbed is not regular; this is because of the rapids below. These geographical features are common in riverbeds as the flow moves downstream. The scene also features the instance where Norman and Paul jump off a waterfall in their boat as their friends cheer them. This geographical feature always embedded in the river is due a sudden drop in the riverbed. They may be formed due to the erosion of soft rocks or even due to geographical fault lines. As we see in the film, the two boys row off the waterfall and into yet another feature that forms due to the existence of a waterfall: a plunge pool (Robert). This pool forms over time as the water falls down and eroding away its floor. In the original novel by Norman MacLean, he depicts the character of Paul as the naughty one. The teen experiences that were described in the novel meant that the boys ‘had to be boys’ and therefore it can be agreed upon that the scene chosen by the production team was actually meant to show teenage naughtiness. It perfectly fits in because other than the pre-requisites of the novel, the scene features actions that would only be deemed possible in a teenagers mind. In the film, we also find that there is some sort of a mountainous theme going on. A number of scenes were selected and shot with keen attention to the beautiful mountains in Montana with some of them capturing the beautiful white capped mountaintops. As we also see in the film, there is a lot of emphasis on forests. Norman MacLean, the author of the novel even states that most publishers declined to publish his novel claiming that it was full of many trees. The basis of this, I believe was to try to create an emphasis on environmental preservation. The narrator (Robert Redford) says that he and his brother grew up in a time when the land was untouched. His words are backed up by a spinning image of trees and mountains shot from above the ground. The combination of the two creates a stunningly beautiful and breathtaking scene. The motivation behind this geographical implication can be attributed to the fact that the production team was trying to create an emphasis on environmental conservation as well as make the film to be consistent with the novel in which it is based on (Robert). The vast tracks of land filled with green vegetation and trees together with the rigorous river help create an emphasis on the narrator’s point ‘my brother Paul and I grew up in a time when the land was untouched’ meaning that the scene had to be just that ‘untouched’. The film also uses geographical nature to express a lonely theme. When Normans’ brother Paul was found beaten to death in a back alley, a sense of loneliness strikes Norman and his father, Mr. MacLean. Norman feels as though it was his fault for not doing something about the wayward behaviors of his brother Paul. A scene past the third quarter of the film paints a picture of loneliness. The production set up a scene whereby Norman is now elderly and starts having memories of the moments he had with his beloved brother. He is depicted standing alone beside the calm river. The trees stand calm and the mountain can be seen from a distance. To create an even deeper emphasis on the theme, the scene is shot at an angle that is inclusive of the river waters flowing calmly downstream as the narrator gives his story. The geography here is used not to create suspense or amusement but to create an emotional emphasis in the story (Robert). Other than purposes of theming the movie, the geography behind this film generates a bit of geographical knowledge among viewers, it might lack description but let us not forget that a lot can be learnt from motion pictures. Generally, the film based many of its scenes on the geographical surrounding so that it can create consistency. We have seen the production team use geographical themes to emphasize on the idea they want to pass across. Imagine, for instance, the film setting at the first part of the movie when the narrator (Robert Redford) was giving a description of how he and Paul grew up. If the film lacked proper backing from the geographical setting being explained, the film would appear plain and would lack taste. Therefore, I can add that geographical theming is paramount in generating sensibility of the content. Among other geographical implications in the film, the last part of the movie stands out more than the rest due to the kind of emotional impact it generates. However, I think it's fair to mention that geographical theming in films cannot stand by themselves without backing from its human counterparts the cast. These two are interdependent and cannot fulfill their purposes without the other (Robert). Therefore, the film could not have been much of a success if it lacked the incorporation of the two. In my view, the believe that there was one of the major motivations that drove the production team to consider having geographical themes that reflect the desired scenes. Works Cited A river runs through it. Dir. Robert Redford. Perf. Redford Robert. 1992. Read More