The Unforeseen is a documentary about land development in Austin, Texas. I highly recommend this movie to anyone interested Austin history, Barton Springs, or the balance of land development vs. environmental protection.

It is a very detailed look at the forces and personalities that have shaped development in Austin for the last twenty years. The film focuses on the controversy surrounding development at Circle C Ranch and pollution in Barton Springs.

A trailer and further details can be found here: TheUnforeseenFilm.com

The movie is underscored Wendell Berry’s poem, Santa Clara Valley. It starts like this:

I walked the deserted prospect of the modern mind
where nothing lived or happened that had not been foreseen.
What had been foreseen was the coming of the Stranger with Money.
All that had been before had been destroyed: the salt marsh
of unremembered time, the remembered homestead, orchard and pasture.
A new earth had appeared in place of the old, made entirely
according to plan. New palm trees stood all in a row, new pines
all in a row, confined in cement to keep them from straying.
…

The full poem is here: Santa Clara Valley by Wendell Berry

The Unforeseen is showing for the next week at the Alamo Drafthouse - South Lamar. Click here for The Unforeseen Showtimes

Share your opinion of the film in the comments below.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 11:01 pm and is filed under Austin, News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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