La rivière

The River features a decent portrayal of the harsh life of American farmers and delivers a fine message that stands as the epitome of genuine American virtues. It is the story of Tom Garvey (Mel Gibson) and his family. They cultivate land close to the banks of the Tennessee River and have to fight floods and financial crises while one of the local capitalists plans to build a reservoir and wants them to abandon their land. Tom and his wife Mae (Sissy Spacek) are unwilling to yield. They rather chose to continue their inhuman struggles and stick to the grounds of their ancestors. What follows is a desperate and almost destructive fight to survive against adversities that seem invincible.

Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek are portrayed as a loving couple that would never back down. Despite mounting pressure and considerable setbacks it is a question of honor and integrity for them to hold on. Due to financial reasons, Tom takes a job as a factory worker and has to leave Mae with the work at home. Mae is a rugged but also very sensitive and determined woman. She is not as stubborn as her husband and does indeed show signs of wavering and despair. Yet she is as dogged as he is when it comes to defend their land and their family. This is where both get their strength from. Land and family. The most important values for Americans. As long as there is land, and as long as the family is intact, there is always hope. Whatever adversity is thrown upon you – natural or man-made – backing down is no option. The movie lives from this emotional and psychologically compelling commitment and brings these genuine American virtues to the fore with sincere authenticity and without glossing over the facts. The life of the family is portrayed in all its depressing hardships and stands as a symbol for the bold ambitions and the perseverance of the pioneers of the historical frontier. At the same time Tom and Mae embody natural virtues of not just Americans but all humans.

Apart from the very obvious emphasis on courage and steadfastness, the movie provides visually intriguing sequences. The camera work is sublime and manages to capture at least some of the most picturesque images of the Tennessee River. The entire movie is shot on location in the Volunteer State along the banks of the great river. The scenes shot at night and during heavy rain are stunning and require substantial experience.

The River is indeed more than an average movie. Its story is simple but compelling. The characters are decently portrayed and the message is both appealing and inspirational. Storyline developments are sometimes still too slow and some scenes are occasionally long-winded. It is a typical American movie, thus elaborating strongly on American issues and American virtues.

I recently rented this movie because I'm a Mel Gibson fan, but before I did, I read over the review by Leonard Maltin on these pages and found that his comment "but Gibson's character is so coldly stubborn that it's hard to empathize" regarding the character Tom Garvey was pretty harsh.

This is not a man so stubborn you cannot empathize with him in the least. Harrison Ford's character in Mosquito Coast was such a man, but this guy is a good man trying to do what's right for himself and for his family and I didn't see him as cold either. Again, look to Mosquito Coast if you're looking for a father who's cold, TOO stubborn and unloving.

If you want to see a good movie about farmers facing adversity from the weather and from their "neighbors" this is a good one to rent. Justly nominated for cinematography, it's a very pretty movie, although I'd have liked to see it on the big screen to get the full effects of the river shots. Sissy Spacek was of course excellent as well.

I enjoyed this movie for the most part, it wasn't fantastic, it was interesting though and somewhat exhausting, watching how hard this family works to keep afloat.

Its a slow building movie following Tom and Mae Garvey (Mel Gibson and Sissy Spacek) a hardy Tennessee farming couple who must defend their farm against man and nature, constantly one step away from foreclosing or flooding. This is from the early 80's so Mel Gibson is very good looking here as well as doing a decent southern accent. Sissy looks good too.

There are also some interesting scenes in this, one in particular stands out when Tom takes a job at a foundry and a deer enters which then has all the workers surrounding it, planning on killing it and then they just release it. I'm not entirely sure what it was meant to signify?

The ending felt a bit abrupt with yet another flood and a somewhat cheesy conclusion to everything with the outcome of the bad guy land developer (Scott Glen). I was left wondering and then what happens? Probably the same exact circle of events next season. 10/24/15

Lotta screenplay issues here. For working so hard on their farm, why do they look so young and fresh and alive - farming must not be that tough. They had a horrible flood at the beginning of the film and another at the end. Why didn't they plan and shore up the levee? Sissy was caught on a tractor for most of the day, arm crunched by a drive train; lost a lot of blood, but a cast for a while and she pops back to tendin the farm. Mel doesn't ask about that. Just a lot of unanswered questions in a shoddy script. Good points: the cinematography is excellent as is the musical score. Oh, and to get money Tom takes a job as a scab in a union steelworkers mill and doesn't realize it?????? It's not a bad movie ~ it's not a good movie ~ it's a depressing movie because you think after all is said and done, they are set up for failure during the next crop season.

One of those Mel Gibson movies that no one has heard of and yet, is excellent. Sissy Spacek coming off of an Academy Award for Coal Miner's Daughter (1980) is excellent here too (nominated for this one as well).

It's always a tough go for farmers, but the 80's was particularly bad. Remember Farm Aid, 1985?

Scott Glen plays a good bad guy looking to push some farmers off their land. Mel and Sissy show that love is the tie that binds and resist giving up. Great cast and performances all around.

The River is really one of those lost gems from the 80's. The two main actors, Spacek and Gibson, show why their careers really took off during this time.