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The Emerald Forest is a 1985 British adventure drama film set in the Brazilian Rainforest. It was directed by John Boorman and written by Rospo Pallenberg. It is based on a true story. The film was screened out of competition at the 1985 Cannes Film Festival (source of information: Wikipedia).
John Boorman is more famous for his two symbolic experience-rich films Excalibur and Deliverance, but The Emerald Forest is a very unique portrait of environmental conquest and ethics complications, and it features the effective Powers Boothe as an American industrial engineer working on a dam construction project in the lush Brazilian rainforest.
Boothe's character, Bill Markham, realizes his young son Tommy has been kidnapped by a tribe of rainforest aborigines who are not pleased with the interfering influence of civilization building a lavish dam in their territory. Years later, Bill reunites with Tommy who has been raised by the aborigines and even has a girlfriend and has become an integral part of the tribe's social life (and they mean the world to him). Bill decides to help Tommy and 'his tribe' overcome the challenges posed by civilization and the dam.
The Emerald Forest is in many ways, the diametric opposite of the equally-coloured 1980 Henry De Vere Stacpoole adapted film The Blue Lagoon (about a brother and sister stranded on a beautiful island and learning how to love each other in an isolated but complex environment), another environment-nature iconic film.
Powers Boothe is very commanding and effective in his portrayal of Bill Markham, a civilization-focused man coming to terms with the ethics complications created by soul-searching changes in a human being's perspective on power and conquest.
This film did not receive as much social esteem as it should have, and it deserves at least 3/5 stars if we, say give The Blue Lagoon 4/5 stars and David Lean's power-meditation film The Bridge on the River Kwai 5/5/stars.
The Emerald Forest (Wikipedia)
John Boorman is more famous for his two symbolic experience-rich films Excalibur and Deliverance, but The Emerald Forest is a very unique portrait of environmental conquest and ethics complications, and it features the effective Powers Boothe as an American industrial engineer working on a dam construction project in the lush Brazilian rainforest.
Boothe's character, Bill Markham, realizes his young son Tommy has been kidnapped by a tribe of rainforest aborigines who are not pleased with the interfering influence of civilization building a lavish dam in their territory. Years later, Bill reunites with Tommy who has been raised by the aborigines and even has a girlfriend and has become an integral part of the tribe's social life (and they mean the world to him). Bill decides to help Tommy and 'his tribe' overcome the challenges posed by civilization and the dam.
The Emerald Forest is in many ways, the diametric opposite of the equally-coloured 1980 Henry De Vere Stacpoole adapted film The Blue Lagoon (about a brother and sister stranded on a beautiful island and learning how to love each other in an isolated but complex environment), another environment-nature iconic film.
Powers Boothe is very commanding and effective in his portrayal of Bill Markham, a civilization-focused man coming to terms with the ethics complications created by soul-searching changes in a human being's perspective on power and conquest.
This film did not receive as much social esteem as it should have, and it deserves at least 3/5 stars if we, say give The Blue Lagoon 4/5 stars and David Lean's power-meditation film The Bridge on the River Kwai 5/5/stars.
The Emerald Forest (Wikipedia)
