In the past few years I've acquired a new hobby: fly fishing. In many of my fishing "circles" they refer to "A River Runs Through It" as "The Movie". I didn't fully understand why avid fly fisher people would love and hate this movie all at the same time. I only recently took the time to watch it. Its a wonderful story. it also has beautiful cinematography. I would recommend it to certain friends and many of my family.
However, now I understand the history around the movie...Now I understand why people that love fishing rivers would have a bitter sweet reaction to this movie.
The river that portions of the story takes place is now a ecologically wasteland a certain form of mining has rendered the water virtually unihabitable.
Why do we destroy the things we love?
Much like the "progress" of the mine has ruined this beautiful river..and much like the way the character "Paul" self destructs. The movie itself has irreversably changed the sport of fishing the river.
After the release of "The Movie", fly fishing's popularity skyrocketed. Small fly shops popped up everywhere, people were dropping 100's-1000's of dollars on high end fly fishing equipment and guided trips. Now droves of people show up at the river's edge looking like they fell out of a Orvis catalog. They are there to get their slice of heaven...elbow to elbow with the other people that were inspired by "The Movie"