A River Runs Through It

A River Runs Through It

Release Date

1992

Director

  • Robert Redford

Cast

  • Craig Sheffer
  • Brad Pitt
  • Tom Skerritt

Two sons of a Montana minister follow divergent paths, but their love of fly-fishing helps them understand each other, their father, and how to live with grace.

Fly-fishing stands for life in this movie. If you can learn to do it correctly, to read the river and the fish and yourself, and to do what needs to be done without one wasted motion, you will have attained some of the grace and economy needed to live a good life. If you can do it and understand that the river, the fish and the whole world are God's gifts to use wisely, you will have gone the rest of the way. [Roger Ebert]

The Maclean brothers, Paul (Brad Pitt) and Norman (Craig Sheffer), live a relatively idyllic life in rural Montana, spending much of their time fly fishing. The sons of a minister (Tom Skerritt), the boys eventually part company when Norman moves east to attend college, leaving his rebellious brother to find trouble back home. When Norman finally returns, the siblings resume their fishing outings, and assess both where they've been and where they're going.

Banner image courtesy of Columbia Pictures/Photofest

Past Programs

2021

The web of life in a river

The Colonial Theatre, Bethlehem, NH