Canada’s Globe and Mail Reviews “The Unforeseen”

The film closes out Toronto’s Planet in Focus festival this Sunday at 7PM.

If an environmental film festival still sounds like a dry, activist-heavy affair, be assured that PIF has cinematic delights for those who just appreciate world-class cinematography and storytelling.

There’s no better example of this than the closing-night film, The Unforeseen (Sunday, 7 p.m., the Royal). Filmmaker Laura Dunn’s lyrical yet pointed documentary explores how development interests and community environmental activism have swirled for three decades around Austin, Tex. - state capital, the heart of hill country and a singular place “where cowboys and hippies get along.”

Executive-produced by Robert Redford (also interviewed in the film) and director Terrence Malick, who lives in Austin, The Unforeseen charts the roller-coaster career of charismatic real-estate developer Gary Bradley alongside the fate of Barton Springs, a beautiful local swimming hole and part of the vast Edwards Aquifer, which is under increasing threat. With as many twists and turns as Barton Creek, the film features an engaging cast of characters and gorgeous cinematography by Austin’s Lee Daniel (who has shot most of the films of Richard Linklater).