The River Why [HD]

Philosophy And Fishing--A Quirky, But Slight, Coming-of Age Story That Lacks Realness
Note: Almost as interesting as the film itself is the troubled back story of its creation. David James Duncan's beloved 1983 novel has long been considered a tricky proposition to adapt to film due to the story's internal monologue and metaphorical quest for self-knowledge and enlightenment. The author, himself, fought a legal battle against this interpretation with claims of copyright infringement among other allegations with the case settled in 2008. To date, Duncan claims not to have seen the movie at the advice of friends and family and is certainly no supporter of it. It's an interesting story and, if you have an interest, I'd recommend looking it up.

For the purposes of this review, I do not compare the movie with the book. Each is its own entity and it would be hard to match the complexities of the novel's narrative device in film format. But lacking the depth of the book, the movie ends up being a pleasant enough coming-of-age story. If you loved the book,...

A quiet, laid-back kind of movie - much like the act of fishing
This is a quiet, lazy, laid-back kind of film (kind of like the act of fishing) - so it's not for everybody, but I enjoyed it. (Didn't have to swat any flies, touch, smell, clean or eat any fish but still felt some peace and enjoyment of fishing. Cool) Am totally looking forward to reading the book now (usually the book is 10x better than the movie, as it doesn't have to finish in a certain time frame).

Some great scenery, peacefulness of fishing/nature, quirky likable characters, an awkward/interesting romance and some interesting philosophy thrown in. I will probably watch it a few times. Good for when in a quiet, contemplative mood...like sittin on the porch on a lazy day, in no hurry and someone you are comfortable with sits and enjoys it with you.

Kathleen Quinlain and William Hurt's characters add nothing to the movie - in fact the William Hurt character's accent and way of speaking basically annoyed me. So, if you think you'll watch the movie just because...

There are three plots that focus on fishing
There are three main plots in this film focusing on fishing. First, the estrangement of a young man and his two parents. He is sick of living at home with his frequently over-pompous father who is hiding a secret that he never really caught the fish that he wrote about in his best seller book and his mother who is a somewhat boyish tomboy. The parents love one another but have contrary personalities are frequently bickering. Second, while both parents are interested in fishing, the young man wants to go off and fish on his own in his own way. He also needs to find himself. He meets some interesting characters, including a philosopher, a writer, and a beautiful highly spirited girl. Each helps him in different ways. Third, fishing. We see how all of the people love fishing, each in his or her own way, and devote their lives to it.

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