A small town in Montana, picturesque. In the woods, the morning light shines, and the floating dust moves freely without direction in the light beam. A large river and the rock erected in it rub each other, making a pleasant gurgling sound, and there are mountains and cooking smoke in the distance. Brothers Norman and Paul grew up here. Their father was a no-nonsense pastor, and their mother was thrifty and kind, taking care of the family's food and daily life. My father liked fly fishing, and he often said that the swing was an art, with the right amount of force from the wrist in the 10-2 o'clock rhythm in four or four beats. My brother and I thought that in my father's eyes, God's disciples were fly anglers.
The younger brother Paul has been a little out of tune with the puristic atmosphere of the entire family since he was a child. He is rebellious, stubborn, and keen to seek excitement. For example, because he didn’t like to eat oatmeal, his younger brother once sat motionless in front of the oatmeal porridge for a long time; for example, Paul insisted on drifting with his brother in the most turbulent part of the river, and the two crashed the bow of the boat and nearly died.
However, the younger brother, who has a wild energy, said that he would never leave Montana and that he would become a master of fishing. As he grew older, his brother chose to go to Texas to study at the University of Dallas. In the university, Norman saw the wider world and stayed at the school to become a teacher. He deeply felt that he liked teaching. His younger brother, Paul, went to college near his home and became a newspaper reporter after graduation.
After six full years away from home, Norman finally returned to Montana one summer. Carrying a suitcase, he stood in the hall of the house and asked his mother: Am I losing weight? Mother asked him: Am I getting old? On the first day after returning home, Norman did not see Paul. Dad said: You know, he's very busy with work.
The next morning, Norman went to the newspaper office to find Paul. Paul was a little surprised and called brother. When the brothers met, the first thing that came to mind was fishing. In the same big river, after several years, the scenery has not changed. It's just that Norman was a little handicapped, and he couldn't swing the rod at first. Paul gently left Norman's sight and found another area for fishing. Later, Norman discovered that Paul was now no longer following his father's dogma, but had established his own swing rhythm and was a master fisherman.
In the evenings, the brothers would gather with their friends on the steps in front of the library to chat as they did when they were children. Paul suddenly offered to leave, and Norman was puzzled, only to hear friends say that he was going to Lulu. Norman goes to the prom with friends, meets Jessie, a sweet, bubbly blond girl, and falls in love with her at first sight. Shy and not very funny, Norman called and agreed to go out with Jessie on Friday, of course, with his brother and his girlfriend. Paul's girlfriend, an Indian, was treated coldly at the bar. But the two of them didn't care at all, a dance in the middle of the dance floor was unrestrained, enthusiastic and free.
That night, Norman learned that Paul was in the police station and drove to bail him. The police officer told Norman that this time, Paul hurt others to protect his girlfriend, but he has been in trouble recently, and Lulu owes a huge sum of money, which is not a good thing.
In order to get close to Jessie, Norman promises her family to accompany Jessie's bastard brother Neo to go fishing, along with Paul. That day, Neo was hanging out with an old woman, sunburned all over and not fishing at all. Jessie felt that it was Norman who failed to take good care of her brother, and their relationship was at an impasse. During dinner, Paul laughed at Norman and Jessie, and got up to leave. The parents looked nervous when they saw it, but didn't ask more. The next day, Norman received a call from Jessie to say goodbye to Neo.
Afterwards, the two were walking in the woods, and Jessie asked Norman in tears: Why do those who need help the most always refuse to help? Norman told Jessie that he had a letter of appointment as a professor of literature from the University of Chicago.
Paul hears that Norman is going to be a real professor, and takes him to Lulu to try to get lucky. The people in Lululi looked delicate when they saw Paul. Norman didn't want to stay for a long time. Paul threw the car keys to Norman and returned to Lulu alone. Before leaving, he said to Norman: Hey, tomorrow morning at 6:30, let's go fishing.
The next morning, Paul arrived at the house for breakfast as scheduled, and the family members breathed a sigh of relief when they saw him. The father and son went to the familiar big river, the father climbed to the high ground and read quietly; the two brothers fished by the river. Paul couldn't catch anything at first, while Norman caught two big fish with ease. Suddenly, Paul saw a big fish in a fast-flowing river. He restrained his excitement, swayed, cast the line, the fish was hooked, but the water was even more violent, and the river rushed towards the hooked fish, and Paul did not pass. . Father and Norman watched nervously down the river, and at last Paul stood up, clutching a fat fish. Father and son took a group photo, chatted freely, and the sunset was getting late.
That night, Paul died. He was killed with the butt of a gun by Lulu's men, and the body was found in the alley. After the mother heard it, she went upstairs in silence. Father asked: Is there anything else you want to tell me? Norman said: "Paul's hand bones were broken. Father got up and walked towards the stairs, suddenly, stopped and asked: Which hand is it? Norman replied: Right hand.
Tears welled up in Paul's eyes the last time he heard his father preach.
"For it is true we can seldom help those closest to us. Either we don't know what part of ourselves to give or more often than not, the part we have to give is not wanted. And so it is those we live with and should know who elude us. But we can still love them. We can love completely without complete understanding."
"Although we often fail to help those around us because we don't know what we can or must give , he refuses to help others, those closest to us are often the ones we least understand, but we can still love him, we can love with all our heart and soul those we don’t know.”
The whole movie is so beautiful, and the whole story is told in the language of the camera. The violence and sadness in the story merge into the whole river and flow away. Norman and Paul grew up in a family with very different endings. Norman is suave and suave, and Paul feels simple and good. As if the gambling addict wasn't him. My father said that Paul was a work of art. Indeed, he was like an artist when he was fishing. The graceful arcs drawn by the lines and rods in the air were painted by Paul. In the end, the father didn't know why Paul ended up like this, and obviously, the brother didn't know either. They saw Paul's broken end, but still loved him because love doesn't require knowing and knowing everything about a person. This is not indifference, but trust and respect for each other. In the middle of the movie, Norman also tried to help Paul repay his debts, but when Paul did not speak, Norman stood up. He kept holding out his hand, waiting for Paul, only Paul didn't extend his hand. Perhaps, what the younger brother needs is not redemption. He knows what kind of person he is. As long as occasionally, there are family members by the riverside, and everyone holds the fishing rod in their hands, waving and harvesting, and that is enough. The great river has many branches, and the people are also different.
Life is not perfect, but it can still be beautiful, like a work of art.
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