On growth in Austin: "The Unforseen" (Spring, Alamo: real estate, how much)

[jread]

Winner of the 2008 Independent Spirit Award “Truer than Fiction” Prize.

An ambitious west Texas farm boy with grandiose plans tires of living at the mercy of nature and sets out to find a life with more control. He heads to Austin where he becomes a real estate developer and skillfully capitalizes on the growth of this 1970s boomtown. At the peak of his powers, he transforms 4,000 acres of pristine Hill Country into one of the state’s largest and fastest selling subdivisions. When the development threatens a local treasure, a fragile limestone aquifer and a naturally spring-fed swimming hole, the community fights back. In the conflict that ensues, we see in miniature a struggle that today plays out in communities across the country.

“The kind of transformative viewing experience that has made the current period a golden age for nonfiction film.”

The trailer: Trailer : The Unforeseen

Upcoming showtimes: Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - THE UNFORESEEN (http://www.originalalamo.com/Show.aspx?id=5240 - broken link)

http://theunforeseenfilm.com/blog/wp...erfinal500.jpg

By the way, that is Barton Springs Pool that the kids are diving in... not the ocean. You really have to see it in person to appreciate just how beautiful it is, with it's cool, clear/blue water. Here is an unrelated video of Barton Springs that really does it justice (remember, this is not out in the country, it is right by downtown):
YouTube - Barton Springs / Barton Springs Pool

[twange]

Thank you for the link. My wife and I are making plans to go see it as I'm typing!

[jread]

Originally Posted by twange

Thank you for the link. My wife and I are making plans to go see it as I'm typing!

I will try to see it this weekend and post a review if I get to. If you see it first, please tell us if you liked it

[twange]

Originally Posted by jread

I will try to see it this weekend and post a review if I get to. If you see it first, please tell us if you liked it

Most definitely. Probably Sunday for us.

[Raskolnikov]

A great documentary, highly recommend it.

[austin-steve]

I'd like to see it also, and will soon.

What's the general message one is left with after watching? Does it try to cast "good guys" vs. "bad guys"?

Steve

[jread]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

I'd like to see it also, and will soon.

What's the general message one is left with after watching? Does it try to cast "good guys" vs. "bad guys"?

Steve

Everything I've read about it says that it does not "take sides" at all. Instead, you are just presented with all the information from both sides of the issue and left to form your own opinion.

[Raskolnikov]

Originally Posted by austin-steve

I'd like to see it also, and will soon.

What's the general message one is left with after watching? Does it try to cast "good guys" vs. "bad guys"?

Steve

I think the message it leaves you with is more of a philosophical one: what are the long term consequences of growth. It is nothing like a Michael Moore film or some kind of SOS alliance sponsored hit job on real estate. It presents Gary Bradley as a sympathetic character who in some ways embodies the American dream, good and bad. Of course it's pretty clear that the film does have a lot of doubt about whether suburban growth over the Edwards Aquifer has been a good thing.

I will say that it does not present any environmentalists whom the audience isn't supposed to feel sympathy for. Also it does not really show the true American dream scenario of someone who is completely poor/ has no family inheritance or momentum (like a dirt poor second generation Mexican) being able to have the benefit of buying a home, their kids getting to go to a good schools for the first time in their family history, the owner getting equity in the home, and being able to have their children grow up with a better life than their forebears. Of course it's not meant to be a film about the positive side of the American dream, that would make it get off onto a tangent, but still... It means the film is just one particular perspective.

I hope that makes sense. I wouldn't say it is 100 percent even-handed but it takes the high road and really does get you thinking about the cost of growth, beyond just Barton Springs being polluted. You'd have to see it to understand. It's the most eloquent argument I've ever seen that doesn't feel like an argument at all.

Don't let the fact that anti development types are championing the film. They are just one part of the audience. I'm not that at all, but I loved it. I think it's a must-see.

[twange]

Originally Posted by Raskolnikov

I think the message it leaves you with is more of a philosophical one: what are the long term consequences of growth. It is nothing like a Michael Moore film or some kind of SOS alliance sponsored hit job on real estate. It presents Gary Bradley as a sympathetic character who in some ways embodies the American dream, good and bad. Of course it's pretty clear that the film does have a lot of doubt about whether suburban growth over the Edwards Aquifer has been a good thing.

I will say that it does not present any environmentalists whom the audience isn't supposed to feel sympathy for. Also it does not really show the true American dream scenario of someone who is completely poor/ has no family inheritance or momentum (like a dirt poor second generation Mexican) being able to have the benefit of buying a home, their kids getting to go to a good schools for the first time in their family history, the owner getting equity in the home, and being able to have their children grow up with a better life than their forebears. Of course it's not meant to be a film about the positive side of the American dream, that would make it get off onto a tangent, but still... It means the film is just one particular perspective.

I hope that makes sense. I wouldn't say it is 100 percent even-handed but it takes the high road and really does get you thinking about the cost of growth, beyond just Barton Springs being polluted. You'd have to see it to understand. It's the most eloquent argument I've ever seen that doesn't feel like an argument at all.

Don't let the fact that anti development types are championing the film. They are just one part of the audience. I'm not that at all, but I loved it. I think it's a must-see.

We just saw it as well and I agree that it's a must see, not only for Austinites but anyone who's interested in the growth/development polemic. I also felt that while the film does a very good job of presenting the problems and arguments against suburban sprawl, it really doesn't present any solutions or alternatives, just that "suburban sprawl is bad and it should be limited or stopped". Depending on how much information the viewer already brings with them, some of this can be redundant and even a bit glum. But I also concede that it's probably too much to address in one short film and that focusing on one aspect of the subject is probably more productive. I think that the argument was maybe too reliant on emotive methods and could have presented more in the way of comparative analysis. Then again, I really loved the use of poetry and metaphor, especially the cogent example of how cancer cells reproduce and some of the beautiful images of nature in progress and process. The interview segments with Ann Richards were really great as well.

I also would have liked to hear more of a distinction between irresponsible, greedy developers vs conscientious projects that work hard to capture the balance needed in urban areas. I think that this is important and without it, the film might seem one-sided. One of the interviewees alluded to this briefly by stating that the process of growth was not necessarily bad, but that the character of growth is more of a defining issue. Is it destructive, short term profiteering or meaningful and careful planning? His point was that Austin could currently accommodate its population boom by improving the quality of what's already available here right now. I suppose this starts with asking the question why do people want to live in suburbs in the first place and can Austin do a better job of providing these amenities without developing more of its surrounding land?

The film raises many questions, certainly more than it answers but I think it's a very fine and thoughtful documentary and highly recommend it to anyone who cares about this subject.

[jread]

Thanks for the review!!! I didn't get to see it this weekend but I will try to go soon. I'm very interested in the subject so this should be enjoyable to watch.