All lives revolve around decisions and instances from ones past. In A River Runs Through It (1992), director Robert Redford uses this idea and applies it to a true story of two brothers from Montana, Norman and Paul Maclean (Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt, respectively). Based on the autobiographical novel by Norman Maclean himself, River uses Maclean’s metaphysical beliefs about life and nature to present its many themes. Using a longing score, various film devices, and a story line involving themes of youth, loss, and the pitfalls of pride, Robert Redford crafts a film about the beauty of the past. The film starts with an elder Norman fishing in the “Big Blackfoot” river. Written by Mark Isham (who won the Academy Award for his work on …show more content…
This pattern of Norman accepting, and Paul pushing away, is recurrent throughout the film. Redford stays in the boys’ youths for a longer period of time than the average director. This is due to the importance of youth within the film. Redford constantly reminds viewers of the boys’ innocence and purity by bathing them in light. In one of the first, and most widely known, scenes in the film the two boys are fishing in the middle of the river. Redford films the shot at the end of the day, as the sun is low in the sky, and the boys are backlit and silhouetted by the sun and its reflection off the water. This shot gives the characters a pure and innocent aura, and helps the viewer subconsciously connect with their youth. As Norman and Paul grow older, they remain very close. This is meant figuratively and literally, as Redford’s use of Mise-En-Scene helps to establish just how close the relationship between the two is. There are dozens of shots within the film, where the boys (and later men) are standing next to each other completely alone and at an extreme long shot, with the vast Montana wilderness behind them. This technique of camera distance and character closeness gives the film and the boys’ relationship an “us against the world” feel, and also connects the boys closeness directly to the setting in which they grew up. Another way Redford conveys the importance of Montana and the river to the boys’ lives is with voice over placed on panning
Since the boys were children, the audience can see the differences with their families, the way they are treated by the people around them and indeed their lives.
Life can bring unexpected events that individuals might not be prepared to confront. This was the case of O’Brien in the story, “On the Rainy River” from the book The Things They Carried. As an author and character O’Brien describes his experiences about the Vietnam War. In the story, he faces the conflict of whether he should or should not go to war after being drafted. He could not imagine how tough fighting must be, without knowing how to fight, and the reason for such a war. In addition, O’Brien is terrified of the idea of leaving his family, friends and everything he loves behind. He decides to run away from his responsibility with the society. However, a feeling of shame and embarrassment makes him go to war. O’Brien considers
Likewise Into the Wild is a film which explores the great opportunities that encounter from ‘going away’. Christopher McCandless is initially hurt by the
The Oregon Trail was a very important aspect in the history of our country’s development. When Marcus and Narcissa Whitman made the first trip along the Oregon Trail, many Americans saw a window of opportunity. The Oregon Trail was the only practical way to pass through the Rockies. Pioneers crammed themselves into small wagons to try to make it to the unsettled land; however, 10% of these pioneers died on the way due to disease and accidents.
Paul and Norman grew up in the same household, with the same values, but from their fishing styles, to their jobs and educations, to their social lives, their differences amount to those of night and day. While boys, young in age and mindsets, Paul and Norman learned to fish from Mr. Maclean. This factor had vast significance because, in this preacher's family, a clear line between fishing and religion had no presence. Mr. Maclean taught his sons the conventional four-count.
In the 1953 film Shane directed by George Stevens, mysterious hero Shane helps settlers in the west claim their property against land owners who are greedy for land. The film follows Shane as he meets the Starrett family who are fighting to keep their land. This film is an example of a classic Western film, with elements that reflect a uniqueness about the film in comparison to other Westerns, both cinematically and thematically.
Fly fishing is not what this story is all about, although it might seem so at first. Neither is it about religion, even though the father’s first line is: "In our family, there was no clear line between religion and fly fishing." Yes, these two things are themes that run through the story and add to its power. But there is so much more. It depicts a place of beauty, history, myth, and mystery, it is a triangle of earth in Montana where the writer grew up. And it captures a space of time in the not-so-distant past with a sensitivity that is both witty and poetic. Robert Redford loved this story and turned it into a handsome movie. Read it yourself or watch the movie, and you
When people tink about the first people in America, they might think of Christopher Columbus or the European colonists; when, in fact, the first people were the Indians. The Cherokee Indians had lived in the lands of what is now the United States for thousands of years before any colonists had ventured over. Little did they know that the new nation that was going to be forming around them, would severely affect the lives of their descendents.
Characters in the text The Secret River by Kate Grenville represent a variation of attitudes and views towards the colonisation of Australia and the Aboriginal Australians. While many characters are indecisive about their opinion on the natives, some characters have a clear mind-set on how they are to be treated. The characters of Thomas Blackwood and Smasher Sullivan represent the two very different sides of the moral scale, and the other characters fit between these sides. Smasher is a vicious, cold-hearted man who shows no respect or humanity towards the Aboriginals. On the other hand, Blackwood’s character contrasts Smasher with his humanity and general respect to the original owners of their new home. The
As River held up the Saint’s head for all to see the women and children shrieked, the men grabbed up their machetes ready to defend. River shouted, “This is the Saint you celebrate? He is sinful and has done things beyond your comprehension. He has created monstrosities that can live forever, now I ask you, is that a Saint to be celebrated?” River realized they would not listen, so he walked over and placed the Saint’s head on top of a pole for all to see. He turned and ran for fear of what they would do to him; while he was not easily killed, he was still able to meet death with a beheading.
A River Runs Through It is, deservedly so, the work that Norman Maclean will always be best known for. His 1976 semi-autobiographical novella tells what is really only a brief piece of the life story of two brothers who grew up together in the Montana wilderness; but the scope of this timeless tale of fishing, family, and religion extends beyond just a few months. It touches on the entirety of the complicated relationship between Norman Maclean and his parents, and his prodigal yet distant and troubled brother Paul. In masterful and stirring prose, Maclean examines the strength of their bond, and yet how neither he nor his family could keep Paul from self-destruction. Maclean also mulls over his and his family’s ideas about grace and man’s relation to nature. Maclean’s enthralling vision is delivered through the artistry of his writing, earning the book its deserved position as a classic of American literature. In 1992, a film adaptation of the novel was released,
The first of the two stories I chose to compare and contrast is titled “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson and the second story is titled “The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D.H. Lawrence. I will compare each of their themes, characters, and plot developments in which they are both similar and different. One of the strongest comparison would be that both stories deal with the subject of luck in one sense or another. The Lottery being considered a game of chance in which luck plays an important factor in being the chosen winner but Luck in the Lottery has a different twist of fate because the winner of the Lottery is actually the
Passions drive people, and the townspeople in “The Lottery” and Paul in “The Rocking-Horse Winner” are no different. Each of the members of the unnamed town has a strong passion for tradition. The original black box used for the lottery is described as being, “lost long ago, and the black box now resting on the stool had been put into use even before Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, was born” (Jackson 251). This sentence gives the reader an understanding that the lottery is an ancient tradition that has become an integral part of the town’s lifestyle. Such a tradition can only be carried on for this length of time if the people are passionate about preserving the tradition. Paul had a passion to be wealthy as a way to prove to his mother that he was lucky. From a young age, he saw that his family always wanted more money to support a better lifestyle, yet
When the Macleans, especially Norman speaks of the river they are also referring to life, their lives, and themselves. When Norman couldn't
The story of a vengeful man. The film's lead role portrayed by Leonardo DiCaprio. He is really a great actor. Character's name is Hugh Glass. Hugh Glass is very experienced hunter. He hunts sable and he sells sable's fur. Hugh's wife died. She was Native American. Hugh has got a son. His son name is Hawk. Hawk is always next to his father's. He learns lots of things by his father's. Hugh and his son works in the hunt team. One day they are hunting. Savages are attacking them. Hugh and his team trying to escape. Hugh's team is losing many men. They are getting on the boat and they are running away. They take a long way in the river. They are camping in the forest. John Fitzgerald is the bad guy of the movie. John Fitzgerald portrays the