you’ve ever wondered what a single person can do against the relentless onslaught of development, wait until you see the charismatic and enigmatic David Brower push the 1964 Wilderness Act through Congress, and then go on to save the Grand Canyon from damming and help create Redwoods National Park and Point Reyes National Seashore. With a playful visual aesthetic, a cool alt-country soundtrack, and hand-held wilderness footage from as far back as the 1930s, Monumental documents the golden age of American environmentalism, when Brower took the Sierra Club from a regional hiking group into a national political force. Seen through Brower’s own eyes–he was an accomplished filmmaker –a 1956 raft trip down Glen Canyon, before its damming, evokes the awful sadness of losing public land we’ve failed to protect. And in period footage of Brower’s early rock-climbs–done in sneakers, with hemp ropes–and of his training of the 10th Mountain Division and participation in their victory against the Nazis in the high Alps, Brower emerges as an unlikely and inspiring national hero.Read More »