Save‘How do you get to know a river? Inspired by Mark Twain’s book Life on the Mississippi (1883), which recounts his time as a Mississippi River steamboat pilot, Brown’s 2019 film of the same name explores the history and identity of the river from Twain’s era up until the present. Retracing Twain’s route from Memphis, Tennessee, to New Orleans, Louisiana, Brown finds the contemporary path far less romantic but no less intriguing than Twain did a century and a half earlier. Pondering what it means to know something as massive, complex and dynamic as the mighty Mississippi, Brown encounters museum models, riverboat simulators and an intertwining network of financial, environmental and cultural interests along the way. The viewing experience mirrors a riverboat ride, with Brown’s deliberate pace slowly revealing new scenes to assimilate into the larger picture.