A River Runs Through It: Understanding Our Past through the Edifying Story

Abstract

The subject of narrative is situated within the story in the numerous references to storytelling and examples of it. The power of narrative, then, at once shapes the film and is imminent within it. Although obviously a conventional story about a pair of brothers growing up in Montana, A River Runs Through It, is also about the art and experience of storytelling itself. We are reminded that we are being told a story by a self-conscious narrator (the voice-over is director Redford’s). The explicitly told story, moreover, is meant to give instruction, to be an edifying narrative. It contrasts with the stories told by the two wayward brothers in that their stories do not yield understanding. The film suggests that telling a tale can lead the storyteller to self-understanding only because he goes through the process of crafting his story. But for this narration to be self-edifying the storyteller must possess requisite moral virtues, such as humility and honesty.