Hot Docs 2025 - River of Grass Review

From the very first frame, Sasha Wortzel & crew lock the audience in with gorgeous views of the Florida Everglades. Immediately, it seems as though it could be a loose adapting the Marjory Douglas book of the same name; it’s not long before these glistening views of the endless Everglades operate as a background to Douglas’ words. We hear the narration of several passages from the foundational non-fiction environmental work, and the book’s contents ultimately operate is the narrative’s template for topic discussion and dissection. 

While the festival is taking place, I made it a high priority to see How Deep Is Your Love, Climate in Therapy and River of Grass as close together as possible. I accomplished the goal, however at what cost?—- I seem to have developed an unstoppable black hole spawned by environmental existentialism, and a decreasing faith in the overall morality of humanity of large. 

Let me rephrase that: I have an increasing faith in the inherent goodness, kindness and couragesness of humanity after seeing all these films—- seeing them all being linked together by a common theme of a group of people wanting to do the right thing for ecosystems, for the environment—- for all life on earth, human or not, as we know it. This particular sentiment is highlighted in River of Grass through footage of Marjory’s intoxicatingly charming personality; every scene that features her responding to interview questions, talking about the success of her book and the intricacies of the Everglades, is an absolute treat. 

About halfway through the film, Wortzel’s camera captures a harrowing juxtaposition. The scene features two city workers chopping down trees in a commercial area, which is displayed just after clips of dire climate situations and circumstances that are negatively effecting the Everglades (as well as the world at large). This is where the power in Wortzel’s film truly lies; it’s an aesthetically gorgeous piece that operates as a serene love-letter to a precious hotspot of life (/national landmark) but, in the same breath, it’s also a deeply harrowing reminder that our natural resources won’t last forever, and that beautiful landscapes such as this can only thrive if we don’t exploit them to depletion.

Hot Docs 2025 runs until May 4th. This film has one final screening on Wednesday, April 30th, 10:45am at TIFF Lightbox. Tickets can be purchased at hotdocs.ca