The Bend in the River

The Bend in the River chronicles five close friends over nearly fifty years. Starting in 1978, director Robb Moss documents his friends’ outdoor, rent-free life during one clothing-optional rafting trip through the Grand Canyon. In 2003, he filmed them again as they come to terms with their transition from being young and carefree to responsible and middle-aged. Now, in 2025, Moss finds the group in their seventies and grappling with the choices they’ve made as individuals and as a generation. Cathy, Barry, Jim, Danny, and Jeff have now lived most of their lives. They’ve held jobs, been married, had children, divorced, remarried, helped raise grandchildren, dreamed, suffered, succeeded, and survived. The film interweaves moments from the distant past with those of the recent present, taking viewers back and forth through time and inviting candid reflections on what it means to live and grow old.