Wild River
The Wild Language... The Wild Hungers... The Wild Furies!
Directed by Elia Kazan
Produced by 20th Century Fox
A mid-century drama about progress versus tradition, anchored by a tender romance and the clash between bureaucratic modernization and rural resistance in Depression-era Tennessee.
A young bureaucrat for the Tennessee Valley Authority goes to rural Tennessee to oversee the building of a dam. He encounters opposition from the local people, in particular a farmer who objects to his employment (with pay) of local black laborers. Much of the plot revolves around the eviction of a stubborn octogenarian from her home on an island in the river, and the young man's love affair with that woman's widowed granddaughter. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation.
Essence
Ensemble
Like Wild River
Nearest across the full emotional profile.
Same Mood as Wild River
Nearest on what's most distinctive about this one.
Like Wild River, But Darker
Similar, pushed toward heavier and more intense.
Like Wild River, But Lighter
Similar, pushed toward warmer and easier.
Like Wild River, But Less Popular
Same territory, far fewer people have seen it.
