The Unforeseen (2007)

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:

Texas | Nature | Austin Texas | Lobbyist | Swimming Hole

Awards:

1 win

Cast

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

Directed by
Laura Dunn

Produced by
Madeleine Akers	....	associate producer
Laura Dunn	....	producer
Terrence Malick	....	executive producer
Carolyn Merriman	....	associate producer
Robert Redford	....	executive producer
Douglas Sewell	....	producer
Jef Sewell	....	producer
Rose Hansen Smith	....	co-producer
William Warren	....	co-producer

Cinematography by
Lee Daniel
Vance Holmes

Film Editing by
Laura Dunn
Emily Morris

Sound Department
Ethan Andrus	....	sound mixer
Wayne Bell	....	field recordist
Wayne Bell	....	sound editor
Wayne Chance	....	sound editor
Tom Hammond	....	sound designer
Tom Hammond	....	sound re-recording mixer
Justin Hennard	....	sound editor
Dennis Meehan	....	sound recordist

Visual Effects by
Jef Sewell	....	motion graphics

Editorial Department
Joe Malina	....	additional colorist
Oscar Oboza	....	colorist

Music Department
Brooke Wentz	....	music clearances

Other crew
Unjoo Lee Byars	....	main title producer
Kyle Cooper	....	title designer

Production Companies

• Despair
• Two Birds Film
• Sundance Institute, The

Distributors

• Cinema Guild, The (2007) (USA) (theatrical)
• Despair (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Special Edition)
• Sundance Channel (2007) (USA) (TV)

Other Companies

• Prologue Films  titles
• Soundcrafter  sound post-production

Also Known As:

Runtime:

USA:88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Filming Locations:

Austin, Texas, USA

Company:

Despair

Trivia:

Robert Redford spent his summers in Austin as a child. He learned to swim in the natural springs which feature so prominently in the film (Barton Springs).

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:

Robert Redford:We're trying to get at something deeper here... which is, that force, bigger than all of us, here longer than all of us that designed something that is still mysterious to us, that we're trying to figure out and put order to... Well, that's the spirit of something, and it's best reflected in natural places.

Movie Connections:

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

Soundtrack:

Looking Back

Powerful film about land development in Austin, TX

This film premiered at Austin's SXSW Film Festival after its initial showing a few months ago at Sundance. The Unforeseen is one of the most cinematically beautiful documentaries to appear in a long time. There are stunning sequences of Barton Springs. One could certainly feel the influence of producers Robert Redford (particularly A River Runs Through It) and Terrence Malick. The nature shots were spectacular. The story that is told is particularly powerful to those who know and love Austin, but the broader conflicts between land development and environmental protection are universal and can be well-understood, although perhaps in a less personal way, by those who have never visited Austin.

While the film is clearly takes a pro-environmental stand, it is not a one-sided polemical. It presents a sympathetic and fair portrait of land developer Gary Bradley. It lets him tell his story without making him out to be a cruel unfeeling villain. It presents the history in a nuanced light that is often missing from documentary film-making. The film includes many conflicting voices and let's the audience make its own decisions. This type of film reflects the best standards of journalistic rather ideological Michael Moore-style manipulative film-making. It presents a complicated conflict of values in a way that both takes a stand without mocking those they disagree with. While some of the narrative seems a little self-righteous at times, and the title (taken from a poem used in the film) seems a little confusing and unclear, overall, the film is an excellent lesson in history and politics. I hope that it gets wide distribution, because it is a debate that the American public needs to engage over what trade offs Americans are willing to make between the environment and development. How much of our natural beauty are we willing to give up to accommodate modernity?