Beauty Beneath the Dirt

I wish I can get the 80 minutes of my life back after watching this horrible movie/documentary. I was hopeful for the film but it was an all out bomb. Sorry Katherine.

Essentially a series of interviews conducted at key moments along an Appalachian Trail thru- hike, "Beauty Beneath the Dirt" captures the youthful exuberance of a hiking trio as they meet the physical and mental challenges of their adventure. It gives little sense of the Trail as a community or unique experience, but that is not the film's goal. The A.T. is merely a backdrop for the interactions of the three characters. As is typical at their stage of life, these people come across as self-absorbed navel- gazers who nonetheless capture the viewer's interest with their physical attractiveness and engaging on-camera manner, if not their sincerity. It would be interesting to see the reaction of their fellow hikers to their constant self-documentation on video; one need only refer to their trail name, "The Traveling Circus," to guess that there was some irony inherent in giving them that moniker.

Full of arrogant and irritating youths who have no real experience of the world and need taking down a peg or two. Maybe the trail succeeds in doing that to them but I had to turn it off before I threw my tv out of my window.

For the first time since the classic AT documentary film 'Circle of Dreams' came out in 1993, there is another remarkable film of a group thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. This honest, transparent narrative of the 'Traveling Circus' made up of Monkey, Ringleader, and Lightning will appeal to those thousands of high school, college and postgraduates who are dreaming of doing the Appalachian Trail. It also will appeal to those thousands of former thru-hikers who hiked the trail when they were young.

It is an emotional, reality-based story of three 20-somethings on the career fast-track who want to take a break from their traditional education to find out important lessons that aren't taught in the classroom. On their 2010 northbound thru-hike, they learn things they weren't expecting and they weren't all pleasant ones. Some scenes are of joyous group fun and fellowship; some scenes jolt the audience with a display of raw feelings of anger, loneliness, frustration and betrayal; and, some scenes reflect the inspiring wisdom gained from this 'pilgrimage' or 'walkabout'.

If this film is in your neighborhood, I recommend that you see it. It is honest. It is entertaining. It is thought-provoking. And, it is beauty and the dirt.

Warren Doyle PhD Founder/Director - Appalachian Folk School 16 traverses of the AT (34,000+ miles) ALDHA Founder and Honorary Life Member; ATC LIfe Member

A great documentary of the emotional journey of the three main characters of "the Travelling Circus", Ring Leader/Kate, Lightning/Emily and Monkey/Brandon while hiking the Appalachian Trail in 2010.

If you are looking for a how-to journal on hiking the AT with information on what to bring, and how to pack and what to expect...this film is not for you. This film is truly about the experience and the human emotional response to the journey through physical exhaustion and seclusion.

Jason Furrer did an excellent job of editing. He was able to take a pretty repetitive and borderline mundane experience (hiking 2000+ miles in the woods for 5 months?!?!?) and turn it into a story you wanted to hear and an journey you wanted to take. It was fun and upbeat, it was dramatic and explosive, it took you from laughing to crying and back to laughing again - you understood their journey and felt their pain. Topher Wright's music score was dead on - well done.

I am an avid outdoor enthusiast, but not a hiker, and this film made me want to through hike the AT!