The Same River Twice

Described by one critic as "The Big Chill, documentary-style," The Same River Twice is a highly acclaimed, intimately personal film that spans 25 years in the evolving lives of a group of river guides who first gathered as free-spirited friends and lovers on a month-long trip down the breathtakingly scenic Colorado River in 1978. Latter-day twentysomething hippies (long-haired, frequently nude, eco-centric, Earth-loving adventurers), filmmaker Robb Moss chronicled their back-to-nature journey a quarter-century ago, capturing the group dynamic that brought them together for this pivotal chapter of their lives. Moss (now a Harvard film professor) revisited his friends in 2003 and filmed them again, thus creating a past-and-present tapestry of lives in progress that's as poignant as it is uplifting, grounded in the realization that change is not only inevitable but something to be embraced. Moss's friends each retain the foundations of their former selves, and it's as fascinating to see how they haven't changed as how they have. But adulthood--families, jobs, goals achieved or abandoned--has shaped them in new and unexpected ways, and as they look back at Moss's 1978 footage, The Same River Twice achieves a resonance that's profoundly moving and universally revealing. Like Michael Apted's acclaimed 7-Up series of then-and-now documentaries, this is the kind of film that will affect viewers in many different ways depending on their age and outlook, but it speaks to all of us as we continue the grand adventure of our individual lives. DVD extras include audio commentary by Moss and a filmmaker Q&A. Recommended. [Note: This is also available on VHS or DVD from Bullfrog Films with public performance rights for $295.] (J. Shannon)