A River Runs Through It was the first movie that really taught me about the power of film. As the credits rolled and I reflected on what I had just witnessed, I just remained in my seat, silent… waiting… for what I could not say. I have never fly-fished. I have never been to Montana. I am a child of the 70’s and 80’s. Yet this film did something profound that really shook something inside me awake. And it is still awake. Much of the power of this film, I believe, lies in the bookend monologues Norman offers as he reflects on his life. He concludes with, “I am haunted by waters.” I am haunted by A River Runs Through It. This film takes some time to digest, and so the discussion need not follow the film immediately. However, rich discussion over this film can be had any time. Savor this film.
Quotes and Moments
In our family there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing. We lived at the junction of great trout rivers in western Montana, and our father was a Presbyterian minister and a fly fisherman who tied his own flies and taught others. He told us about Christ’s disciples being fisherman and we were left to assume, as my brother and I did, that all first-class fishermen on the Sea of Galilee were fly fishermen and that John, the favorite, was a dry fly fisherman…
In the afternoon we would walk with him while he unwound between services. He almost always chose a path along the Big Blackfoot, which we considered our family river. And it was there he felt his soul restored, and his imagination stirred.
[The Reverend says to his boys] Long ago rain fell on mud and it became rock. But even before that, beneath the rocks are God’s words. They came first. Listen.
And if Paul and I listened very carefully, all our lives, we might hear those words.
As a Scot and Presbyterian my father believed that man by nature was a damned mess and had fallen from the original state of grace, and that only by picking up God’s rhythms were we able to regain power and beauty. Unlike many Presbyterians, he often used the word ‘beautiful.’
My father was very sure about certain matters pertaining to the universe. To him, all good things, trout as well as eternal salvation, came by grace and grace comes by art and art does not come easy…”
Maybe all I really know about Paul is that he was a fine fisherman. ‘You know more than that,’ my father said. ‘He was beautiful.’”
I remember the last sermon I ever heard my father give, not long before his own death:
Each one of us here today will, at one time in our lives, look upon a loved one in need and ask the same question: We are willing Lord, but what, if anything, is needed? For it is true that we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don’t know what part of ourselves to give, or more often than not, that part we have to give… is not wanted. And so it is those we live with and should know who elude us… But we can still love them… We can love—completely—even without complete understanding….
Now, nearly all those I loved and did not understand in my youth are dead, even Jessie. But I still reach out to them… When I am alone in the half-light of the canyon, all existence seems to fade away to a being with my soul and memories of the sounds of the Big Blackfoot River, and a four-count rhythm, and the hopes that a fish will rise.
Eventually all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the earth’s great flood and runs over the rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words. And some of the words are theirs. ‘I am haunted by waters.
From Paul:
I’ll work it off, father. It was my idea.
It’s my debt, Brother. It’s my debt.
Let’s fish together today.
From Norman:
Paul’s toughness came from some secret place inside of him. He simply knew he was tougher than anyone alive.
My brother stood before us not on a bank of the Big Blackfoot River, but suspended above the earth, free from all its laws, like a work of art.
From John:
The poor without Christ are of among all men the most miserable. But poor with Christ, they are princes and kings of the earth.
You will go to church this day and pray for forgiveness… Boys, what have you done?
Now let Paul tell us a story…
We can love completely, even without complete understanding.
From Jessie:
You don’t like my brother, do you?
Why is it that the people who need the most help won’t take it?
I don’t cry, Norman.
Questions
1. What about this film was done well? Were there any aspects of the film you found lacking? If so, what were they?
2. What themes or images from the opening monologue occur in the closing monologue? What is their significance?
What makes each of the characters beautiful? What about this movie is beautiful? What about it is tragic? What about it is hopeful? Why? What were the characters’ major flaws? Positive traits?
3. Many movies deal with good and evil by casting a clear hero and a clear villain. This one does not. Are there heroes in this movie? Who and why? Are there villains? Who and why? How does the absence of a clear-cut hero or villain complicate our response to this film?
4. The Reverend John Maclean tells his congregation at the end of the movie that they will all one day have a loved one in need, and will ask what, if anything they have to give. He concludes that it is those closest to us who elude us the most... who don’t want what we have to give. What does each character need? What does each of them have to give?
5. The Reverend Maclean tells Norman, “You like to write stories, yes? Then maybe someday you can write our story.” Every family tells a story—and unless your life is extremely unusual, these stories are a mix of deep joy and intense pain and everything in between. Norman tells a family story that spans his lifetime. Each person in his family relate to each other in both complex and explainable ways.
6. How does Paul relate to Norman? Norman to Paul? The Reverend to each of his boys? To his wife? How do the boys relate to their father? To their mother?
7. How are Jessie’s brother Neal and Paul alike? How are they different?
8. How does Paul’s presence at family meals affect the atmosphere in the room? Why do you think this is so?
9. Describe the Reverend John Maclean’s personality and relationship to his family. Do you think he loves his children? Why? Do you think he loves his wife? His God? Why?
10. The back of the DVD case describes this movie by saying, among other things, “Growing up, both boys rebel against their stern minister father.” Do you think this is an accurate description of what happens in the film? Why or why not?
11. In the beginning of the film, the Reverend John Maclean implores his son as a writer, to tell their family story when he is ready. Is this a story worth telling? Why or why not?
What About You?
Take a few minutes to reflect on the following questions. Art is meant to reach into our lives and change us, stir us and teach us something we might not otherwise see. These questions require a bit of vulnerability... you’ve been warned.
12. If this were your family’s story, how long do you think it would take you to be ready to tell this story, if ever? Why?
If you could list just one theme for this movie, what would it be? Why?
13. How is your life like Paul’s? Like Norman’s? Like John’s? Like Clara’s? Do you relate to any one character more than the others? Who and why?
14. What do you think Norman means when he says at the end, “Under the rocks are the words. And some of the words are theirs.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not?
15. What do you suppose Norman means with the closing line: “I am haunted by waters.” ?
16. How might this film be used as a point of contact for discussions with non-believers?
17. How is this film a window of insight into how a Christian should live, think and act?
Discussion Questions for a Christian and non-Christian Audience
Tragic Beauty—Film as Art
1. What about this film was done well? Were there any aspects of the film you found lacking? If so, what were they?
2. What themes or images from the opening monologue occur in the closing monologue? What is their significance?
3. What makes each of the characters beautiful? What about this movie is beautiful? What about it is tragic? What about it is hopeful? Why? What were the characters’ major flaws? Positive traits?
4. Many movies deal with good and evil by casting a clear hero and a clear villain. This one does not. Are there heroes in this movie? Who and why? Are there villains? Who and why? How does the absence of a clear cut hero or villain complicate our response to this film?
5. How is violence used in this film? Is it used gratuitously, glorifying violence, or is it used to support the narrative and main ideas of the film? Explain.
6. The Reverend John Maclean tells his congregation at the end of the movie that they will all one day have a loved one in need, and will ask what, if anything they have to give. He concludes that it is those closest to us who elude us the most... who don’t want what we have to give. What does each character need? What does each of them have to give?
7. How does Paul relate to Norman? Norman to Paul? The Reverend to each of his boys? To his wife? How do the boys relate to their father? To their mother?
8. How are Jessie’s brother Neal and Paul alike? How are they different?
9. How does Paul’s presence at family meals affect the atmosphere in the room? Why do you think this is so?
10. Describe the Reverend John Maclean’s personality and relationship to his family? Do you think he loves his children? Why? Do you think he loves his wife? His God? Why?
11. The back of the DVD case describes this movie by saying, among other things, “Growing up, both boys rebel against their stern minister father.” Do you think this is an accurate description of what happens in the film? Why or why not?
12. In the beginning of the film, the Reverend John Maclean implores his son, as a writer, to tell their family story when he is ready. Is this a story worth telling? Why or why not?
What About You?
13. If this were your family’s story, how long do you think it would take you to be ready to tell this story, if ever? Why?
14. If you could list just one theme for this movie, what would it be? Why?
15. How is your life like Paul’s? Like Norman’s? Like John’s? Like Clara’s? Do you relate to any one character more than the others? Who and why?
16. What do you think Norman means when he says at the end, “Under the rocks are the words. And some of the words are theirs.” Do you agree with him? Why or why not?
17. What do you suppose Norman means with the closing line, “I am haunted by waters.” ?
18. Has this film made any lasting impact on the way you think or the kind of person you want to be? If so, explain.Source
A River Runs Through It credits:
Starring:
Craig Sheffer (Norman Maclean)
Brad Pitt (Paul Maclean)
Tom Skerritt (Rev. Maclean)
Brenda Blethyn (Mrs. Maclean)
Emily Lloyd (Jessie Burns)
Edie McClurg (Mrs. Burns)
Stephen Shellen (Neal Burns)
Director: Robert Redford
Screenwriter: Richard Friedenberg
Based on a story by: Norman Maclean
Producers: Jake Eberts, William Kittredge, Patrick Markey, Robert Redford & others
Cinematographer: Philippe Rousselot
Costumes: Kathy O'Rear
Original Music: Mark Isham
Runtime: 123 minutes
Rated PG for some violence, language, and partial nudity.
