The River Runner

Rush Sturges's 2021 documentary follows a plan the kayaker Scott Lindgren pursued across twenty years: to run all the great rivers rising from Mount Kailash, some of which had never been descended. The turning point is a brain tumour. After the diagnosis the plan falls back and the narrative turns from an athlete's portrait into a story of recovery; family relations and anger from the past begin to be discussed. The river footage comes from archive and new filming, and the kayaking passages take wide space. The narrative does not glorify risk and records the weight of having lost friends. Who it's for: those who like outdoor sport documentary. Who it's not for: viewers who want only action; the second half is largely illness and therapy.