The Unforeseen (2007)

User Rating:

7.1/10   

Director:

Laura Dunn

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

A documentary about the development around Barton Springs in Austin, Texas, and nature's unexpected response to being threatened by human interference. |

Plot Keywords:

Nature | Austin Texas | Water Pollution | Urban Development | Blueprint

Awards:

1 win

Cast

Gary Bradley
Judah Folkman
William Greider
Willie Nelson
Robert Redford	...	Himself
Ann Richards

Runtime:

USA:88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Despair

Trivia:

Terrence Malick, a long time resident of Austin, originally conceived the idea for the film.

Goofs:

Miscellaneous: A latter animation showing water lines becoming blood vessels has a noticeable shift. It appears a duplicate frame has been accidentally inserted.

Quotes:

Gary Bradley: Nature in your life, very quickly becomes God. A God who gives great abundance at times... and takes everything away at times.
[on growing up on a farm]

Movie Connections:

Features "Frontline: The Great American Bailout (#9.16)" (1991)

Amateurish

Whether you support unfettered property rights on the one hand or a government's exercise of power to defend the common good on the other hand, this film will let you down. On the left, it's often unenlightening clap trap, especially when you notice the horribly sentimental background music. On the right, it points out the selfishness of those claiming to be the real Americans when they are mostly just "real loud" Americans. Someone should tell those folks that common sense says you don't shite where you eat, but as long as they're taking cash to the bank they'll apparently just do their business wherever they please. These people probably know that everything has consequences, but they plan for the other guy to bear those consequences, a guaranteed formula for social meltdown.

The only admirable figures in the film were a wizened old farmer and a young boy in a new suburb. Those two seemed to possess a clarity of thought singularly missing from the property developers on one side and the ecological "Nimbys" on the other. It was nice, though, to see the late Texas governor Ann Richards again, certainly a far more lucid politician than the person who replaced her.

I think neither side was well depicted in this film of the ongoing battle between personal vs. social, private vs. public. Ultimately, The Unforeseen is, unfortunately, a lightweight film on a very serious subject.