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River

Play trailer 2:28 Poster for River 2023 1h 15m Documentary Play Trailer Watchlist
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88% Tomatometer 24 Reviews 73% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
An exploration of the timeless relationship between human civilization and Earth's rivers. Spanning six continents, this visual and musical tour-de-force is by turns celebratory, cautionary, and ultimately hopeful that we are beginning to understand rivers in all their complexity and fragility. Narrated by Oscar Nominee Willem Dafoe. With music by the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Radiohead.
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River

Critics Reviews

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Richard Whittaker Austin Chronicle 04/20/2023
3.5/5
River flows in the wake of other documentaries... intended to quietly terrify us. Go to Full Review
Michael Hogan Daily Telegraph (UK) 07/25/2022
1/5
“Rivers run into the future and remember the past.” Oh hush, you frightful bore. Go to Full Review
Ben Dowell The Times (UK) 07/25/2022
You would be forgiven for feeling that this is a little pretentious at times, but there is also something hugely seductive about a transportive slow TV viewing experience... Go to Full Review
Michael Clark Epoch Times 08/12/2023
2.5/5
An actor with an instantly recognizable voice, Dafoe, recalling the late painter Bob Ross or a generic male NPR contributor, is not only saddled with spouting these silly bits of jumbled sophomoric drivel, he does so in a passionless monotone. Go to Full Review
Kelly Vance East Bay Express 04/21/2023
The dazzling cinematography -- by Yann Arthus-Bertrand, Ben Knight, Peter McBride and Renan Ozturk -- visits seemingly every corner of the world in seductive rhythmic progression. Go to Full Review
Todd Jorgenson Cinemalogue 04/21/2023
Simple yet ambitious, this visually stirring documentary flows slowly but is worth soaking in. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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James F 04/23/2023 Some striking photography and a lot of ponderous scenes. An art film more than a documentary. See more D. H 06/04/2023 People absolutely have to watch this movie. Very enlightening. Kudos to Twitter for putting it on my radar. See more Alysha S 04/23/2023 You learn so much about rivers, including fascinating information. Also, some of the shots are stunning. A couple of shots of fish jumping out of rivers specifically come to mind. It's also tremendously effective at pointing out relationships between humans, civilizations, and rivers. See more Read all reviews
River

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Movie Info

Synopsis An exploration of the timeless relationship between human civilization and Earth's rivers. Spanning six continents, this visual and musical tour-de-force is by turns celebratory, cautionary, and ultimately hopeful that we are beginning to understand rivers in all their complexity and fragility. Narrated by Oscar Nominee Willem Dafoe. With music by the Australian Chamber Orchestra and Radiohead.
Director
Jennifer Peedom, Joseph Nizeti
Producer
Jo-Anne McGowan, Jennifer Peedom, John Smithson
Screenwriter
Jennifer Peedom, Joseph Nizeti, Robert Macfarlane
Distributor
Greenwich Entertainment
Production Co
Arrow Media, Arrow Pictures, Stranger Than Fiction Films
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
Australian English
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 21, 2023, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
May 30, 2023
Runtime
1h 15m
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