What kind of man would return year after year for ten years to rescue a missing boy from the most savage jungle in the world? His father.
For ten years, engineer Bill Markham has searched tirelessly for his son Tommy who disappeared from the edge of the Brazilian rainforest. Miraculously, he finds the boy living among the reclusive Amazon tribe who adopted him. And that's when Bill's adventure truly begins. For his son is now a grown tribesman who moves skillfully through this beautiful-but-dangerous terrain, fearful only of those who would exploit it. And as Bill attempts to "rescue" him from the savagery of the untamed jungle, Tommy challenges Bill's idea of true civilization and his notions about who needs rescuing.
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Character
Earnest, classical in form, grave and contemporary.
- earnestironic
- classical in formformally daring
- gravecomic
- contemporarynostalgic
- effortlessdemanding
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“Is Powers Boothe the best thing in The Emerald Forest?”
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Reviews on TMDB
Written by TMDB members; each links to the original. Not part of Tastebuds's numbers.
- Wuchakon TMDB · Apr 20235/10
**_Good rainforest movie marred by eye-rolling bits and tacked on eco message_** An American engineer (Powers Boothe) takes his family to the Amazon Basin to build a major dam, but his son suddenly disappears and there are rumors that he may have been taken by a tribe called The Invisible People. Ten years pass and he’s still looking. Will he find him? Will the son (Charley Boorman) recognize him? Meg Foster is on hand as the wife/mother. “The Emerald Forest” (1985) is similar to “A Man Called Horse” (1970) story-wise, albeit involving a teen, plus featuring the Amazon setting of “Fitzcarraldo” (1982). It influenced later movies like “Dances With Wolves” (1990) and, as far as ‘look’ goes, “Apocalypto” (2006). Being helmed by John Boorman, it’s a quality production. Unfortunately, this is the least of these movies and therefore justifiably obscure. It’s not just the unnecessary environmental message in the second half but, worse, the laughable implication concerning a rain dance. (Why Sure!) Isn't it ironic how “Natives” in the Americas are now adorned with god-like powers and sage-like stature in cinema? (I put ‘Natives’ in quotations because they’re actually the progeny of settler
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Cast
- Powers BootheBill Markham
- Charley BoormanTomme
- Meg FosterJean Markham
- Estee ChandlerHeather
- Dira PaesKachiri
- Eduardo CondeUwe Werner
- Ariel CoelhoPadre Leduc
- Peter MarinkerPerreira
- Mario BorgesCosta
- Yara VaneauYoung Heather
Crew
- John BoormanDirector
- Rospo PallenbergScreenplay
- Philippe RousselotDirector of Photography
- Brian GascoigneOriginal Music Composer
- Junior HomrichOriginal Music Composer
- Ian CraffordEditor
- John BoormanProducer
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Pairings
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