SummaryThis powerful film odyssey across America explores the sea change in our national attitude from pride in big dams as engineering wonders to the growing awareness that our own future is bound to the life and health of our rivers. Dam removal has moved beyond the fictional Monkey Wrench Gang to go mainstream. Where obsolete dams come down, rivers b... Read More
Directed By:Ben Knight, Travis Rummel
Written By:Yvon Chouinard, Ben Knight, Matt Stoecker
DamNation
Metascore
Mixed or Average
52
User score
Universal Acclaim
9.3
My Score
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Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
52
40% Positive
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
60% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
May 9, 2014
75
What's unusual about DamNation isn't its politics but its production and distribution. It was financed by Patagonia and its chairman, Yvon Chouinard, and will be screened in Patagonia stores.
May 6, 2014
70
Co-director and narrator Ben Knight interviews activists, officials, social jammers, and scientists, approaching the subject not with outrage, but with humor and optimism.
May 20, 2014
60
The film’s haphazard focus muddies the waters without doing anything to clarify the overall stakes. Fortunately, the continual visual splendors make a rather striking argument of their own.
May 15, 2014
50
DamNation is certainly a picturesque splash of doc advocacy, as long as you don't dwell on the cracks.
May 8, 2014
40
If the film is less persuasive for its lack of balance, it’s at least heartening to learn that undesirable dams can be destroyed and their rivers restored to their old ways and means.
User score
Universal Acclaim
9.3
100% Positive
4 Ratings
4 Ratings
0% Mixed
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
0% Negative
0 Ratings
0 Ratings
May 21, 2014
10
I went expecting the film to be tedious and preachy. It is just the opposite. In an exciting and visually compelling way it gets you to feel that our wild rivers are an important part of America's heritage, and many are now messed up with obsolete dams. The editing, cinematography and soundtrack are all really good - hats off to Travis Rummel and Ben Knight, also Matt Stoecker and Yvon Chouinard.. There is a surprising amount of fun in the movie - illegal vandalism, nudity in Glen Canyon, plenty of C4 as dams are removed. They have made a real movie here, not just a political documentary. I look forward to seeing whatever they do next. Go see this movie, or if necessary rent it.
Production Company:
- Patagonia Films
- Felt Soul Media
- Stoecker Ecological
Release Date:May 9, 2014
Duration:1 h 27 m
Website:
Awards
SXSW Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
San Francisco Green Film Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
Telluride Mountainfilm Festival
• 1 Win & 1 Nomination
