In The Legend of Bagger Vance, Redford showed the purity and tranquility of purpose to be found in golf. Here he does it with fly fishing. And just as he captured the period so well in that film, so, too, does he here; not only the look (notably the beautiful Montana landscape) and sound but the cultural (especially religious) folkways as well. The stars, Pitt, Skerritt, and Sheffer, are all perfectly cast and they are backed by a strong supporting cast. This movie is an excellent exposé of a rural American's journey through his formative years. Recommended, 7/10.

In a little town in Montana two brothers grow up. One of them is Norman (Craig Sheffer), the other is Paul (Brad Pitt). Their father is Reverend Maclean and they grow up with his lessons that has to do with religion, and the lessons of fly-fishing. In this movie fly-fishing represents life, a little.

The story is good and keeps your attention although there are some moments you need a little action. Probably the movie has this moments because it is not really about the events that happen, but about the message. Some things do happen though. Norman goes to Dartmouth to study. After six years he returns and gets involved with a nice girl named Jessie (Emily Lloyd) and he is invited to teach in Chicago. Paul has become a reporter and is known as the "fishing reporter". He is famous and it seems he has a nice life, but he drinks a little too much and gambles too much.

The movie is very well directed, it has a nice score and all of the actors are good. The most beautiful thing in this movie is the cinematography. The mountains, the woods and the river all look very beautiful. If the movie was only made for these things it was good enough to watch. Fortunately there is more.

(spoilers) A River Runs Through It is an excellent story of the lives of one family, from the time the two sons were young boys to the time when one of them is an old man, and everyone else has died. Brad Pitt delivers yet another great performance as the younger and wilder son Paul, and the unappealing looking Craig Sheffer stars as Paul's older brother Norman, from whose point of view the entire film is told.

The early 20th century is beautifully and accurately presented, and there is even a reference to former President Calvin Coolidge. When Paul grows up, he becomes a reporter, and gets an interview with the President as he is fly fishing in Montana, the state where the film takes place. Not only is this historically accurate as far as the time period, but we also all remember Calvin Coolidge as the president who seemed to be more interested in fishing than working in the White House. Maybe he had the same opinion that George W. Bush has, that `presidenting is hard.' At any rate, it was never a secret that Coolidge wanted to be the `least president possible.'

A River Runs Through It is a very thorough and meaningful drama that presents a long period of time in a thoughtful and clear way. The film as a whole is structured in a way that is very similar to the way that Saving Private Ryan is structured, by being told from the point of view of one of the characters when he is a very old man. The theme of the whole film can be summarized in one of Norman's lines near the end of the film – `Life is not a work of art.' The film suggests that even though life is not perfect, even in the most beautiful surroundings, you can, and should, find something that makes you happy and do that as much as possible. For the Maclean family, that activity was fishing, and Norman continues that activity until he is an old man.

It's true that the end of the film may have gotten a little too philosophical and ended up sounding a little bit like gibberish (such as the closing line, `I am haunted by waters.'), but the film as a whole is both entertaining and heartwarming. Everyone involved delivered excellent performances that were appropriate for the subject matter, and the character development was intelligent and thorough. This is one of those rare films that, even though it doesn't have the happiest ending, it just makes you feel good.