The Emerald Forest (1985) User Reviews

Great exploration of man vs. the wild

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 13 January 2013]

THE EMERALD FOREST sees John Boorman returning to the dark heart of the world's wildernesses in this story about native tribes living in the Amazon. Powers Boothe plays an engineer whose son is kidnapped by one such tribe, leading him on a ten-year search for answers.

The film works on a double level. First, it stands as a completely adequate action-adventure, with all manner of violent shoot-outs, especially a climactic showdown that brings back memories of hard-hitting '70s greats like ROLLING THUNDER. There's suspense a-plenty, along with strong turns from both Boothe and the director's son.

The film's storyline also allows Boorman to explore themes that are clearly close to his heart, namely the destruction of the Amazonian rainforest by greedy developers and loggers, who turn out to be the real villains of the piece. Yes, it sounds like it could be preachy but it never is, thanks to Boorman's skill at handling the material with subtlety and grace.

THE EMERALD FOREST is virtually unknown today - I caught it tucked away in a late-night showing - but it doesn't deserve to be; DELIVERANCE is the better known effort but this comes close at frequent intervals.

Interesting look at the lifestyle of an Amazon tribe in the vanishing jungle where a boy is taken by primitive men

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 23 November 2012]

Ecological thriller that has in highlighting the destruction of the South American rain woods ; being based upon a real story and filmmaker John Boorman cast his own son , Charley Boorman , in the starring character . Bill Markham(Powers Boothe) moves his family to Brazil where has a job as an engineer in construction a dam project . After the son (Charley Boorman) of engineer is abducted by an aboriginal tribe on the edge of the rain forest, the engineer and his wife (Meg Foster) spend the next 10 years searching for him . Ultimately Markham is captured by a cannibal and bloodthirsty tribe and ironically rescued by "Tomme," who only has dim memories of his biological dad . The teenager spends the next years living under jungle law and integrating an alternative lifestyle . Finally , the father discovering a happily adjusted boy who may not want to go back to so-called civilization . Although Bill wants desperately to have his son accompany him back to civilization, "Tomme's" loyalties now belong to "The Invisible People." The rain forest of the Amazon are disappearing at the rate of 5000 acres day . Four million Indians once lives there , 120.000 remain.

An ecological adventure with mystical touches that was ahead of its time in denounce about forest destruction . This exciting film contains thrills , emotion , adventure and action scenes of infighting between violent rival tribes that generate a lot of entertainment . Inspired by an uncredited story about a Peruvian whose son disappeared under similar circumstances . According to director John Boorman's book 'Money Into Light', his initial choice for the part of Tomme was C. Thomas Howell. When he was unavailable, John decided to use his own son Charley for the part. He plays a boy grabbed by tribesmen whose community is facing disappearance because of the building of a massive dam designed and built by his daddy . Glamorous and lush cinematography by Philippe Rousselot who photographs wonderfully the Amazon jungle , obviously filmed under difficult conditions on location .

This engrossing and enjoyable film with interesting screenplay by Rosco Pallenberg was well directed by John Boorman . He's a good professional filmmaking from the 6os , though sparsely scattered and giving various classics . John started as an assistant direction and his friendship with Lee Marvin allowed him to work in Hollywood as ¨Point Blank¨ (1967) and ¨Hell in the Pacific¨ (1968) from where he returned to the UK and directed ¨Leo¨ (1970) , a rare Sci-Fi titled ¨Zardoz¨ (1974) or the ¨failure Exorcist II¨ (1977). His films are without exception among the most exciting visually in the modern cinema . He became famous for Excalibur (1981), the best of them , ¨Emerald forest¨ (1985) with a ecologist denounce included and his autobiographic story ¨Hope and Glory¨ (1987) and which brought him another Academy Award Nomination after ¨Deliverance¨ . Rating ¨Emerald forest¨: Better than average . Wholesome watching .

Exciting, eye-popping Hollywood entertainment

[dave-sturm · 8/10 · 27 January 2009]

This movie supposedly sends an environmental message, and that's certainly true, but if you look closely it's really a fig leaf (like one of those little flaps on a string that constitute the sole bit of clothing worn by the villagers) for an updated Tarzan movie.

That said, this movie is tremendous entertainment. It is exciting almost all the way through. And when it's slow, there are lots of cute teenage girls in the altogether to gaze at. In fact, there's a demographically striking abundance of teenage girls in this particular tribe.

Favorite scene: During the courtship ritual, Tomme is given a club and is supposed "knock out" his girl in front of the villagers and then carry her off into the forest. She cowers. He hesitates, waves the club around. She glares at him and whispers, "Do it right!" So he hits her and she makes a show of being "knocked out." The whole courtship ritual is beautifully staged. I cannot attest to its authenticity, but it's perfectly clear as he "defends" her from menacing dudes, refuses to be carried off by the other girls, etc. The sheer enthusiasm portrayed is remarkable.

Powers Boothe, playing a dam engineer, makes a dashing Trader Horn-type. He has a great scene when he wakes up in the village only to see his son, Tomme, sleeping peaceful and embracing his girl, both practically nude in the next hammock. The expressions that run across his face are priceless.

The Fierce People live up to their name, but I am dubious that people who live in nature can be so infected with violence.

I learned something. You can climb a high-rise by wrapping vines around your feet. Who knew? The dam business at the end was totally righteous, but, really, pretty preposterous.

And how about that shot of the eagle in flight. Taken from about two feet away. Pretty neat.

Terrific Hollywood movie? You bet. Werner Herzog? Not so much.

One of the most beautiful movies ever made!

[mrmiseta · 22 December 2010]

The Emerald Forest is, without a doubt, one of my favorite movies of all time. I first saw it many years ago, but rediscovered it recently when it showed up on one of my Dish movie channels. The son of an engineer is kidnapped in the rain forest. The engineer (Powers Booth) discovers him years later, when he is a teenager. By then, the son is part of a tribe which has raised him and molded him into a man. He does not want to leave. However, the boy must find and request the help of his father when a rival tribe kills several male members of his tribe members and kidnaps their women. A great (true) story, wonderful acting, and amazing cinematography make this movie an amazing viewing experience. Think Apocalypto without all of the blood and violence. There is a good amount of female nudity. If you enjoy this movie, I also recommend Rapa Nui for it's great scenery and story.

Tushar/Chase's Movie Review

[cfitz07 · 7/10 · 9 July 2009]

The movie the Emerald Forest was a fictional story that was based on a true story. Boorman based his movie of a article that appeared in the Los Angeles Time in the early 1980's which talked about a father whose son was abducted by native tribes and rediscovered ten years later. This may be a true story although there are critics out there who claim that the man made up the story because he wanted attention. The Emerald Forest was a very good film. The Emerald Forest was the first film to bring up the issue of the destruction of the Amazon. The locations are picturesque and Boorman is able to capture the cultural authenticity of the native tribes of the Amazon. What really surprised me was that Boorman did not use actors but went deep into the jungles of Brazil to find real natives to give his a film an authentic feel. This was especially true regarding the Invisible People who Boorman portrayed as a mysterious and elusive tribe which is demonstrated when they are camouflaged in the jungle and manage to stroke Tommy's face with a feather undetected by his family who are only a few feet a away from the Invisible People. That being said although Boorman did capture the authenticity of the native tribes and address the issue of deforestation the storyline was a little dull and cliché. This movie contains all the clichés that other movies have where a white man meets the natives. The first major cliché we can see in the movie is when the white men come they bring with them guns and alcohol and of course they exploit the natives. Another cliché is that as the white men come and development and progress disturbs the native's way of living as well as destroy the rainforest. The final cliché which we see in a lot of movies where natives play a predominant role is that the native lifestyle is portrayed as a sanctuary that sin has never entered. I still believe the film was good and I understand for the most part that is really what happens but Boorman could have made the film a bit more interesting and different and still portray his message. The preservation of the rainforest can easily be identified as the overriding and most obvious theme portrayed in this movie. The concern for maintaining the rainforest is demonstrated through the presumed wisdom we are called to see in the American Indian elders, however; Bill Markham is blind to this wisdom until the end of the movie. A few statistics are also thrown around in the movie concerning the role the Amazon plays in the world and how the white man is destroying it all by bringing industry to the area. The statistics are thrown around in a subtle way for Markham to realize the implications and damage he has caused by building the damn, showing them as being far greater and vaster than he had expected. It was powerful to hear the reporter say that 40 percent of the world's oxygen supply is generated by the rain forests and watch Markham dismiss him because of his ignorance to the real issue. Also, the movie goes on to assert that 5,000 acres of Amazonian rainforest is disappearing every day. This is actually generous. Once Markham realizes the vastness of the problem, the tables had already been turned on him. He too is kidnapped and is rescued by his son "Tomme". This scene was powerful because it shows that the boy had actually become loyal to his kidnappers and what they stand for, not the white man plight for development and industrialization. Through all of Bill's begging and pleading, he wouldn't return back to civilization with his biological father. What does it reveal to his Bill? He finally understands the destruction of life he had contributed to over the past 10 years and tries to undo his wrong by letting a violent thunderstorm destroy the dam they built.

A Fictional Ecological Adventure

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 28 May 2012]

The American engineer Bill Markham (Powers Boothe) moves with his wife Jean Markham (Meg Foster) and children to Amazonas to work in the construction of a dam. When he brings his son Tommy to the site forest, the boy is abducted by the tribe of the Invisible People and brought to rain forest. Bill spends ten years seeking out Tommy in the forest. When he finally meets Tommy, he is an Indian and does not want to leave his tribe and return to the civilization. But when Tommy's mate Kachiri (Dira Paes) and the women of his tribe are kidnapped by a gang of white slaves to work in a brothel in the forest, Tommy searches Bill in the big city to help his tribe to rescue the female Indians.

"The Emerald Forest" is a fictional ecological adventure by John Boorman. The plot is entertaining and it is laughable to read absurd such as "based on a true story". The Brazilian Indians have been burying their dead for centuries as part of the work of the missionaries. The habit of burning and eating the ashes is before the arrival of the missionaries. The destruction of the forest is a reality provoked by farmers and overseas companies with economical interest in our wood. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "A Floresta das Esmeraldas" ("The Emerald Forest")

It is a bitter sweet story about a father who could never make his son happier then he already had become.

[macpherr · 7/10 · 3 April 1999]

Bill Markham, Powers Boothe (U-Turn, Nixon) is an engineer who moved to Brazil to develop a water dam in the Amazon Jungle. After a day in the woods on a picnic with his family, his son Tommy, innocently started watching ants and walked into the jungle. The "Invisible People," native Brazilian Indians that colored their faces so well that it blended with the trees and the habitat in general, took Tommy with them. The son just disappeared in the jungle. After a search the parents could not find the boy. Tommy grows up raised by the Indians and adjusts to their culture and customs and is called Tomme. Tomme is a happy native now. There is a book about the making of Emerald Forest, an international endeavor. The book tells about the difficulties in making a movie in the Amazon jungle, because of the environmentalists, and the bureaucracy. The director, John Boorman (Hell in the Pacific) was determined that his son, Charley Boorman (Hope and Glory), would not play Tomme, but he could not find anyone else to play Tomme and his son ends up with the part. The movie gives a lot of insight in the native Brazilian Indians. Tomme dreams about his father Bill Markham. When Tomme is a young adult, about to be married to young native, he runs into his father, who is still searching for him. This is a very poignant and moving moment in this movie. Tomme recognizes him and trusts him because he is the "man in his dreams" whom he calls Dada. Markham wants his son to go back to the white man's "Civilization," but Tomme is now a native and no longer fits in that civilization, no matter how civilized it is. Tomme goes visiting the apartment complex where the parents lived when another tribe armed by white men stole his tribe's women. He had started remembering things. He sees the place where he lived during a trace in which he becomes his guardian spirit, a Harpy eagle. Instead of taking the elevator, he climbs to the top floor balcony on the outside of the building! He had become one of the best warriors in the tribe, but the other tribe has guns. When Tomme goes into the "white man civilization," there is evil: drinkers, rape, abuse to the native Indians, and all the unfairness that is common to the natives around the world. Tomme lived in a very innocent environment where the natives lived as any society lives. Tomme is happy there. It is absolutely impossible to bring him out from the culture he now knows. Tomme is married to a beautiful native and is happy! The father now realizes what civilization is doing to the Amazon forest and finally destroys the dam that threatened the life of the natives. Now he had a reason: the happiness of his own son depends on it. The father is now against the development that he was hired to accomplish. The cinematography is beautiful. The natives to our surprise were actors. Boorman refused to use natives in the movie for fear of corrupting them. The actors did such a great job that we thought they were real natives. There are beautiful moments of tenderness between the natives and Tomme. It is a bitter sweet story because Markham could never make his son happier than he already was, and lost forever chance of knowing his son and making him happy. My favorite scenes: the son in the water fall discovering his own sexuality with a group of female natives, where a son and father meet, the dances of the natives. There was a lot of work involved in this movie.

Action, Adventure, Drama......who could ask for anything more?

[pachl · 10/10 · 28 May 2005]

Have you ever seen a movie you thought was great, but couldn't even remember its name a month later? This is one movie you will never forget.

I have heard it said that the true test of a movie, or any art form, is whether it accomplishes what it set out to do. Did it inform you, delight you, anger you, scare you, or make you laugh? Besides presenting a very entertaining and original storyline, this movie wants you to care about the environment. After seeing The Emerald Forest, I immediately called one of the major environmental organizations (I don't want to play favorites, but it's one of these: The Nature Conservancy, WWF, Greenpeace, The Sierra Club...) to set up automatic monthly contributions. I never expected a movie to have so great an impact on me, especially such a long lasting one. You would expect that, after time, my enthusiasm would diminish, especially since I have no interest in ever visiting the Amazon! None whatsoever. However, this movie really changed my perspective on the global environment as a whole.

The central character is Tomme (Charlie Boorman). While watching his father direct the construction of a huge dam, Tomme is quickly and silently taken away by a native Brazilian Indian tribe called the Invisibles. They don't see their actions as kidnapping. When they see the young boy, they figure he would be better off with them, rather than with the "termite people", the name they give to the white men who seem to devour all the trees.

Tomme's father spends the next 10 years trying to find him.

This is definitely a thought-provoking movie, but one that is not too heavy handed. It's one of the most entertaining movies I have ever seen, the type of movie you can watch over and over.

Update: Since I had not seen this movie for many years, I decided to see it again last night. I was totally blown away. It was even better than I remembered. Although my original 9-star rating is very high praise, I can't fathom how I could have enjoyed the movie more, so I raised my rating from 9 stars to 10 stars. Director John Boorman also directed Beyond Rangoon, and some other films that are amazingly good.

Charley Boorman's performance is simply brilliant. I can't imagine anyone better in the role of Tomme in The Emerald Forest. I am definitely going to start watching the other movies he has made.

Jungle adventure, good for awhile....

[merklekranz · 6/10 · 2 December 2007]

"The Emerald Forest" is a beautiful, somewhat touching tale of a child's abduction by aboriginals, and a diligent ten year search for the missing son by his father. The rain forest location photography is stunning, and the story actually believable for awhile. Beyond the half way point however, things deteriorate quickly. A film that started out as possibly based on fact, suddenly shifts gears into the realm of fantasy. Tall buildings are scaled with ease, visions locate people, and Powers Boothe goes into "Rambo" mode. Then, to top things off, comes an ecological message that is supposed to be taken seriously, even after the nonsense that precedes it. - MERK

unforgettable

[arjun-6 · 10/10 · 7 March 2005]

I saw this movie years ago as a 13 year old and I can say without exaggeration that no other movie has had such a strong and lasting impact on me. While I was aware of the sacrilege going on in the Amazon, this opened my eyes to it like never before. Shortly after this I ran away from home with a friend, with the intention of going to Brazil, mobilising the Indians into a guerrilla band and killing the loggers. It took our families all of two days to track us down at a port city : )

But I never forgot the lesson this movie taught me and today I work for a conservation organisation. Some of the Indian quotes from the movie are truly tear jerkers. "When we were young the end of the world(the limits of the forest) was very far away, but it gets closer and closer each day" or something to that effect. As an idealistic kid I saw no flaw in this movie and cheered at the improbable climax where the rains destroy the dam and the captured Indian women throw away their cheap clothes and return to the forest. This movie is a must watch

I've outgrown this movie

[renegadeviking-271-528568 · 7/10 · 17 January 2020]

Its plot concerned an American engineer (Powers Boothe) searching for his long-lost son abducted as a child by an Amazonian tribe- The Invisible People- the likes of which the outside world's never seen.

That's how the story starts off, with a little bit of preachiness here and there, but then once the missing son part of the plot gets resolved about halfway through, the movie turns into this Big Message picture about how the indigenous tribes in the Amazon being displaced by the construction/existence of a massive hydroelectric dam.

The movie ends with the missing kid's father, who's also the construction project's head engineer, rigging the dam with explosives to destroy it and save the Invisible People's jungle habitat.

The sabotage fails, but nature picks up the slack when a severe rainstorm- shown supposedly brought about by the Invisible People out in the jungle doing some kind of a Rain Chant- so we get a heavy downpour, which results in a flash flood knocking down the dam, anyway.

So, hey, y'know, we got our happy ending. Or so it seemed, until I put further thought into it.

Even if the company Boothe works for never discovers evidence of his sabotage effort, I'd think his career as an engineer is pretty much over, his reputation ruined, once that dam collapses. There's always got to be a fall guy in the aftermath of a multi-million dollar loss. Who else is there but Boothe to take the blame for that dam's design not having withstood the elements?

Oh, well. At least the Invisible People had a happy ending, left to live on in peace in their idyllic jungle habitat. It's only a happy ending provided you don't think about it past the end credits. Taken to its logical conclusion, based on what we've been shown in the movie, that ending, it's not quite so happy.

Two things:

What stops another dam from being built to replace the one that fell?

Boothe's character, who's probably something of a pariah now in the engineering field, at least with this particular company, is not even going to be involved with the new construction. And, if he is, what's he going to do? Blow it up again? Then what? He goes to jail, somebody, if not the same company, is going to rebuild the dam, given that it's obviously a prime location for a hydroelectric dam.

(Eli Roth's recent flick, The Green Inferno, actually used this angle as a plot point, just one of the reasons I really enjoyed that picture.)

Plus, the more intriguing question, I wondered:

What about the tribe's rivals, The Fierce People, that nasty tribe of cannibals armed with M-16s by slave traders to slay the Invisible People and abduct their women to be enslaved in brothels?

During their rescue of the abducted women, did Powers Boothe and the surviving Invisible men kill off all the Fierce men? Every single one? Even the tribe's teenage boys?

No.

Fact is, the Fierce People have been introduced to civilization and superior firepower. Any surviving Fierce men, or boys who reach adulthood a short time later, could just as easily seek out another gun-running slave trader and strike a deal similar to the previous arrangement in order to avenge their tribe.

And why wouldn't they? They're Fierce. They hate the Invisible People. They love to fight. They're cannibals.

Those kindly Invisible People are living on borrowed time. They are doomed. At the very least, their way of life.

Did I pick up on movie's message of anti-industrialization and bleeding-heart environmentalism? Sure. Hard to miss, given the movie's heavy-handed approach.

While I didn't necessarily disagree with the movie's 'leave those natives alone' sentiment, I did find Boothe's decision to blow the dam up a little disturbing. Here we have the story's hero committing a criminal act of sabotage, possibly mass murder. Not so heroic when you step back and think about it. Even as a naive, idiot teenager, I realized, "Man, is he going to be in deep sh** for that".

There's going to be a massive wall of water released from behind that dam when Boothe blows it up. Did his character ever consider how many homes or unsuspecting people in its path might get destroyed? It wouldn't appear to concern him, not that we're ever shown that.

The fact that Boothe's sabotage didn't actually bring the dam down, but the severe rainstorm did, didn't make the event, nor his radical choice to blow it up, any more palatable.

Though I did get wrapped up in the plot and liked the characters, and enjoyed the movie enough to see it twice during its opening week, I didn't come away from it with a hatred of hydroelectric dams. Or electricity. Though that's really what it was against, they didn't focus so much on the dam or generating power.

What'd they focus on? Destruction of the rainforest, We're shown big bulldozers knocking down acres upon acres of jungle to make way for the dam.

So we got that visual, plus the visual of the Invisible People watching all this happen from just inside the bulldozed treeline, with the knowledge their world is getting smaller and smaller, with the outside world making progress at the expense of the indigenous peoples, blah blah blah. Pretty obvious we're meant to sympathize with one side over the other here.

As much as certain aspects of the Inivisible way of life appealed to my daydreaming teenage brain, it didn't make me want to live that way.

It also didn't make me want to try cocaine.

My dad, who I saw the movie with the second time its opening week, felt the movie's depiction of the Invisible People finding their 'spirit animals' via hallucinogenic green powder forcefully blown up their noses in ritualistic fashion, was intended to glorify cocaine. Or that it did, anyway, no matter the intent.

Maybe he's right. but, honestly, the way they depicted the ritual in the movie, it looked pretty painful and did not look like something I wanted to try, and until my dad brought it up, the pro-cocaine angle never even occurred to me.

An audience sees and hears what it chooses. I saw a kick-ass jungle adventure. My dad saw the same movie, thought it was about drugs.

So why did I see The Emerald Forest twice on opening weekend, later rent the VHS 2 or 3 times, then later on buy the movie on Laserdisc- and watch the hell out of it- and then DVD- which I watched not quite so many times? What was it about the movie I liked?

I found its character conflicts and the action-suspense sequences very compelling, very entertaining. Plus, the world the movie was set in. Back then, especially, any Action/Suspense movie that took place in a woodlands, a swamp or a jungle setting, I was all in for that (First Blood, The Naked Prey, Southern Comfort, Bridge On The River Kwai, Deliverance, Red Dawn, Predator, Apocalypse Now).

All the same, I found its rather romanticized depiction of The Invisible People and the movie's anti-industrialization message (anti-progress) actually kind of routine and not that interesting. That part of the movie just did not register with me in a significant way.

The movie's happy ending aside, it seemed to me, even back then, there was a lot more left to the story than where the filmmaker chose to end his telling of it.

I don't think so highly of the movie now. Parts of it, yes. The locations, the cinematography, the action and suspense, but, overall, I feel like I've outgrown it.

Excellent movie.

[brasilbob · 10/10 · 17 April 2005]

I actually grew up near the city of Belem, shown in the beginning of the movie, and spent 18 years in the region. I also spent time in many of the Indian tribes in the area, including being "adopted" into one at the age of five.

The movie does a great job of showing many aspects of life in the jungle, including some of the lawlessness. The costumes are fairly authentic, and portrayal of many tribal customs is well done. The manhood ceremony is closely based on authentic ceremonies that happen in most tribes.

Altogether, about as good as you can expect from something that is not intended to be a documentary.

Ravishing photography, preposterous script

[Coventry · 6/10 · 2 September 2008]

They often say that facts are stranger than fiction and that movies based on true events are far more implausible and far-fetched than anything that could ever spawn from the over-imaginative minds of scriptwriters. This theory is most certainly applicable to John Boorman's "The Emerald Forest". If this movie didn't loud and proudly claim that it was inspired by a true story, literally no one would take it seriously and even now you still can't help being skeptical and assume that very large parts of the script are pure fiction. It's even a bit frustrating how the movie almost uses the true-story element as an excuse to get away with an utmost incoherent narrative and indigestible plot-twists. The movie basically exists of three large chapters. The first one is brilliant and captivatingly dramatic, and probably the main reason why I personally still can't be too harsh in general. Powers Booth – always a criminally underrated actor – is magnificent as a construction site engineer rising up a dam on the edge of the Brazilian rain forest. His 7-year-old son is taken by a primitive tribe of Indians and for the next ten years – and whilst carrying on his work as well – he searches through the forest for a trace. He goes on risky expeditions and seeks contact with dangerous tribes, which leads him deep into the jungle where he's finally reunited with Tommy. The tone and concept of "The Emerald Forest" then suddenly drastically change, as the discovery of the meanwhile adolescent Tommy leads to a rather irksome plot reminiscent to "The Jungle Book" and "A Man Called Horse". The boy integrated with the people, became intimate with nature, learned the language and found a girl, so even though he remembers his father, he's unwilling to return to the so-called civilized world. During the last and most disappointing chapter of the film, father and estranged son even join forces to assure the survival of the tribe and the conservation of the rain forest. I realize John Boorman's rudimentary intention was to spread moral values and to make viewers aware of mankind's continuous destruction of nature, but nonetheless the final half hour feels too fantasy-like. For example, it's rather hypocrite to play the "true story" card but then simultaneously suggest that a gathering of croaking frogs can bring down a gigantic dam. One thing I cannot possibly deny – and don't even want to, for that matter – is that "The Emerald Forest" is a ravishingly beautiful movie to look at. The authentic Brazilian filming locations are breath-taking and especially during the middle-section it feels as if you're watching a collage of postcard images or a National Geographic best-of compilation. The strong opening, the wondrous scenery and Powers Booth's strong performance are definitely what save this film from mediocrity.

Good rainforest movie marred by eye-rolling bits and tacked on eco message

[Wuchakk · 5/10 · 9 April 2023]

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 settlers from Asia via Beringia). If these Amazonian Indians had that much power, then taking care of the technologically advanced encroachers or enemy tribes would be a piece of cake.

Another criticism is the unrealistic portrayal of The Invisible People. It's way too paradisal with too little emphasis on the mundaneness and hardships inherent to such a life in the deep equatorial forest. For instance, the nubile females appear overly fresh and immaculate for living amidst gross jungle challenges. In other words, they seem like girls who've lived a relatively soft life with modern conveniences (I've seen the real-life articles/photos in National Geographic and they're very different). Both "Apocalypto" and "At Play in the Fields of the Lord" (1991) offer a less fantastical portrayal.

The story was inspired by a supposedly true event, but the man who lost his son to a mysterious tribe was Peruvian, not American, not to mention he was a lumberjack rather than an engineer. It took sixteen years for him to find his son, who had been totally assimilated into the primitive culture. Responding to these deviations, it was said that the screenplay was based on several real-life stories, not just this one.

The film runs 1 hour, 54 minutes, and was shot in Brazil with additional studio stuff done in England.

GRADE: C+

An excellent adventure

[chris_gaskin123 · 1 May 2002]

The Emerald Forest is an excellent jungle adventure which is based on a true story.

A young boy is kidnapped by a tribe in the Amazon known as the Invisible People. His dad (Powers Boothe) then spends 10 years searching for him and eventually succeeds, but only by chance. He decides to stay with the tribe rather than go back to his original family.

Boothe's son when grown up is played by the director's son, Charley Boorman and does a great job playing the part. This movie gives you an idea on what it would be like living in the Amazon. Excellent scenery makes the movie better still. It was shot on location in the Amazon.

I have seen this movie a couple of times and enjoyed very much. Watch it if you get the chance.

Rating: 4 stars out of 5.

'The Emerald Forest' is a solid entry into the 80s action adventure category that stands on its own with its originality, despite the lack of hardcore action.

[bryank-04844 · 7/10 · 12 August 2015]

This 1985 action/adventure film is fairly heavy handed and tends to shy away from the ultra violent action movies of the 80s that starred the Stallones, the Schwarzeneggers, or the Lundgrens at the height of their career. Instead, this is more of an episodic film, based on a true story that is more melodramatic in nature with elaborate character development and a big glaring message about industry vs nature. Director John Boorman ('Deliverance', 'Hope and Glory', 'The Exorcist II') chose to film 'The Emerald Forest' on location in the Amazon rainforest, which gives us a beautiful glimpse at the native people, the wildlife, and its surroundings. This is one of Boorman's more direct stories he has put on film and the result is a satisfying look at what parents would do for their children.

The first segment of 'The Emerald Forest' has us meeting a chief engineer named Bill (Powers Boothe), who is in the Amazon rainforest with his wife Jean (Meg Foster) and their two very young children. Bill is in charge of overseeing the construction of a giant dam that will restrict the flow of water to parts of the rainforest, which will flatten the land for future industrial and commercial buildings to be constructed. Boorman clearly shows which side he is on as he delicately shows us the beauty and wonder of the trees and animals, whereas the big bad city people are using their big tractors and fire to destroy the beautiful land.

Bill and Jean's young son is stolen by an indigenous tribe located in the heart of the forest known as 'The Invisible People', which causes despair for the family. We cut to ten years later where Bill and Jean are still living in Brazil where the dam is almost fully built. They are still trying to repair their broken lives without their son through work and charity. Bill walks with a journalist through the forest and comes across his now grown boy (Charley Boorman) after ten years. and is a contributing member of this new tribe and about to go through some big rituals into full fledged manhood. Bill soon realizes that what was once his son, now belongs to this primitive tribe.

The film switches gears and puts this reconnection on the back burner and focuses on another tribe, which is a much more violent people with more advanced weapons than the usual spears and rocks, known as the 'Fierce People', who are about to wage war on the peaceful 'Invisible People'. Meanwhile, the damn construction is nearing completion and the entire group of tribes have to keep moving further deep into the forest to avoid being killed or taken by authorities. And now Bill must make a big decision. Does he help his lost son and his tribe stand up and fight the bad guys and stop the dam, or does he move on, keeping his life's work in tact. It's a pretty powerful story.

But Boorman doesn't focus very much on the reconnection or kidnapping of Bill's son, which in my opinion was a very vital and integral part of the story. Not much time is given to the initial kidnapping and quickly fast forwards ten years into the future. And when the reconnection happens between father and son, it should have been a bigger moment, but Boorman focuses on the nature vs industry aspect right away with the construction of the dam and the rival tribes. Then, the last climactic few scenes of the film is a straight up revenge flick where Bill and his son come to respect each other's decision to move on with their separate lives.

Both Boothe and Foster turn in great performances as parents who are coping with the lost of one of their kids. Their anger and depression truly shows in their faces and body language throughout. 'The Emerald Forest' is a solid entry into the 80s action adventure category that stands on its own with its originality, despite the lack of hardcore action.

Better Than Anything Steven Seagal Has Attempted

[Theo Robertson · 7/10 · 18 June 2003]

I`m in two minds about THE EMERALD FOREST . Part of me admires it for its hard edged eco message coupled with its violent action packed adventure elements while part of me hates it for its convienent mystical mumbo jumbo when the script requires Tomme and the invisible people to escape from a tight spot . Is it an action adventure or is it a mystical fantasy ? It`s both and it`s neither if you know what I mean .

Hold on , it`s an admirable film despite the flaws , in many ways THE EMARALD FOREST is the type of film Steven Seagal would have made if he had any talent , it`s a film that doesn`t talk down to the audience unlike nearly every eco-thriller made and does make the point that when everyone you love and everything you survey is in mortal peril then violence is the only way you can defend yourself . Compare this to the pacifist stance of the modern environmental movement and I think you`ll find it`s not a film that`d be too popular with Greenpeace

Eye-Popping Amazonian Rainforest Adventure Drama

[ShootingShark · 7/10 · 22 May 2005]

A construction designer working in the Amazon is visiting a logging site with his family when his seven-year-old son Tommy is kidnapped by native tribesmen and vanishes into the rainforest. Ten years later, after an expedition in which he is captured by cannibals, the father is finally reunited with the son, who has been raised by the savages and knows no other way of life.

This is a pretty unique picture, even if the roots of the story obviously come from Tarzan, because it manages to be three things at once; an exciting jungle action flick, an intimate family drama and a sobering environmental message movie. It manages to achieve this I think partly because of the excellent script by Rospo Pallenberg, and partly because there are no big-shot movie stars in the cast looking ridiculous in the jungle. Boothe and Foster are both terrific and virtually everyone else is an authentic-looking non-actor (Polonah in particular, as Wanadi, the Chief of the Invisible People and Tommy's surrogate father, is superb). The casting of the director's son in the pivotal role is a bit ethically shaky, but the younger Boorman is not only ideal for the role (his almost-too-good-looking features and brilliant blonde locks contrast perfectly with the tribespeople) but he delivers a carefully measured performance of confident innocence. The heartachingly beautiful locations, the rich detail of the Invisible People's customs and a terrific electro-ethnic score by Junior Homrich all add tremendous atmosphere to an extremely original and captivating film. A jungle adventure not to be missed.

Breathtakingly beautiful film! A once in a lifetime experience

[NateWatchesCoolMovies · 10/10 · 25 November 2011]

John Boorman's The Emerald Forest is the kind of exotic, intoxicating, wildly adventurous, unbelievable and unforgettable film that comes along once in a decade, if that. These days this sort of film would be gilded to the hilt with unnecessary Cgi, a burden which filmmakers just can't seem to free themselves from in this age. Back in 1985, they had to use what they had, filling every frame with on-location authenticity, genuine realism which prompts a feeling of wonder and sense of mysticism from the viewer, which any computer generated effort just cannot compete with (I will concede that this year's The Jungle Book came up aces, so there are a few cutting edge exceptions). This film is quite the undertaking for both cast and crew, and one can see from scene to scene the monumental effort and passion that went into bringing this story to life. It's also partly based on true events, adding to the resonance. Powers Boothe plays technical engineer Bill Markham, who is living with his wife (Meg Foster) and two small children in Brazil, while he designs plans for a great river dam which will allow further development. One day, on a picnic at the edge of the rainforest, his son Tommy disappears, after spotting an elusive tribe of Natives. Gone with no trace but an arrow lodged in a nearby tree, Bill launches a search for his son that spans a decade, returning year after year to probe the vast, untamed jungle in hopes of somehow finding Tommy. Tommy, now a young man and played by the director's son Charley Boorman, has been adopted and raised by the kindly tribe, known as 'The Invisible People' for they way they remain unseen as they move about their home in the forests. Tommy is very much one of them, taken up their customs and traditions, with nothing but vague memories of Bill in his dreams, which he doesn't believe to have actually happened. One day in the hostile territory of 'The Fierce People', Tommy and Bill are reunited, Tommy taking his wounded father to his home village. Bill is heartbroken that his son is essentially no longer his, conflicted by the situation. Tommy has just entered his life as a man, taking a gorgeous wife (Dira Paes) from his village and starting a future. Trouble brews as The Fierce People threaten Tommy's village, and their women, prompting him to seek Bill's help. It's interesting to see how a tribe who have had little to no contact with the outside world react to it, calling it 'the dead world' and referring to the developers as the Termite People who cut down the grandfather trees. The environmental message is never preachy, always feeling like a vital and important truth that is organic and unforced, emerging through the characters and their interactions. The Natives possess an innate spirituality and connection to the intangible which we have forgotten as progress alters us, still rooted deeply in forces beyond our 21st century comprehension. Boothe is deeply affecting in one of his best roles, a desperate father through and through, while also filling out the broad shoes of the wilderness adventurer he has become over the years. He fills his performance with pathos, longing and is the emotional soul of the piece. Boorman is spry and takes up the aura of Tommy well, mastering the complex linguistics and mannerisms of the tribe admirably. One of my favourite aspects of the film is its exquisite and moving score, the main theme evoking wild romanticism, old world secrets and the unending beauty of nature so well that one feels goosebumps as if we're really there in that setting. Pure cinematic magic, a timeless story told without flaw or hitch, and a breathtaking piece of film.

The Emerald Forest

[Scarecrow-88 · 7/10 · 3 December 2006]

Tommy is taken from his family by an Amazon tribe called "The Invisible Ones" and father Bill spends ten years searching for him. After finding a few leads, he has an encounter with a dangerous cannibal tribe called "The Fierce Ones" and actually stumbles on his son as he tries to flee for his life. The dilemma of the piece comes with a decision left up to Tommy, leave his tribe which are essentially his real family after ten years of living with them or joining his father in the modern civilization across the river.

The film is more a focus on how modernization, progress if you will, has began to wipe out the trees and land of Amazon tribes as they slowly die out. Interesting enough is that Bill is a model example of this type of progress as he heads a log dam which clears land once civilized by The Fierce Ones tribe. He will spend time with The Invisible Ones tribe and find the error of his ways seeing that what he and others(White Man)are doing to people who have lived here for centuries destroying cultures. We also see how the ugliness of prostitution has became a stigma to tribes as The Fierce Ones trade women from The Invisible Ones tribe for machine guns. Using the machine guns, The Fierced Ones have a clear advantage over The Invisible Ones and their mere spears. Again, through that we see how progress can also destroy a civilization..The Fierce Ones can wipe out who they deem a threat and/or nuisance with advanced weaponry.

When The Invisible Ones lose a great deal of their men to those machine gun attacks, Tomme(his name amongst his tribe)will search for his father across the river for help to get back their women who have been traded to a prostitution house.

Stunning cinematography(by Philippe Rousselot)and score are highlights of this amazingly shot film set in the Amazon. Through Boorman's fluid camera-work, we follow the characters as they travel to destinations in the immense forest, yet see what is happening as modernization is chopping away the trees that once populated said Amazon forest. I thought the angle of the modern age clashing with tribal customs in the form of Tommy to be the strong point of the film while the progress part of the film as it pertains to the cultures being wiped out laid on a bit too thick. I didn't quite like the remaining twenty minutes(the deal with the prostitution ring resulting in heavy violence and the whole rain ordeal as it destroys the dam) as much as the first hour as Powers Booth's Bill was amongst a culture of people he knew nothing about. Seeing his son almost completely tribal is interesting not to mention the viewer getting a glimpse into a unique culture of people and their ways of living. The mythological aspects were also diverting from the realism of the film(if a wee bit silly).

Young Charley Boorman is quite impressive as Tomme.

The best movie of Boorman

[grandisdavid · 10/10 · 29 July 2004]

Certainly the best of Boorman. After seeing again Deliverance, which was thrilling when it was first released, and Excalibur, poetical, Wagnerian but a little bit out of date (regarding the shining 70's fake armors), Emerald Forest deepens philosophy and ethnology. Very profound and touching, very good acting, excellent photography, technically superb, there's nothing to really complain about. It hasn't aged at all and probably won't. I gave it a 10 because I do not see anything to improve. In our sad new era of ethnological destruction, where there's no place anymore for the Aborigene or any other tribal culture, this movie gives a little hope, a little reverie of seeing things turning in the right direction thanks to ancient magic. How vain but how beautiful!

Well, this film IS beautifully photographed

[smatysia · 6/10 · 1 January 2013]

Well, this film is beautifully photographed. There are a couple of other Amazon rain forest films that come to mind, "Medicine Man" and "At Play in the Fields of the Lord". Both are better. This one isn't terrible, it is just so simplistic as to become preachy. It also has mile-wide plot holes. The Indian tribe adopted the main character's son. I don't know much about Amazon tribes, but in North America, in frontier times, the tribes there would occasionally adopt captives. Of course, at other times, they would torture them to death, whether man, woman, or child. Oddly, the tribe's women were all shapely and pretty. Didn't see any that were old, fat, or ugly. I appreciate the aesthetics of this, but the realism takes a hit. Powers Boothe was singularly in need of a charisma transplant, or the movie in general needed some star power. It is okay, but that's all.

A very good adventure film filled with vibrant colors, scenery and awesome action sequences

[Ed-Shullivan · 8/10 · 19 February 2015]

WARNING: This review may include spoilers Although this film may have been based on a true story, the actual account is not as the movie producers have chosen to depict their story line. I enjoyed the film simply because the beginning of the story, as well as the end of the story are factual, and the flow of the movies storyline will keep the audience's attention. A 10 year old boy named Tommy was taken away from his family at the edge of the forest where his father was working and raised by an Amazon tribe. Ten years would past before father and son are eventually re-united and the young innocent child is now a fully grown man and an experienced tribesman of the Amazon forest.

What I enjoyed about the film was how the young child named Tommy was transformed in to tribesman and hunter Tomm"e" (after a ten year elapsed time is noted) grew in to a man and accepted his new life by the Amazon tribe who abducted him. When Tomme's father continues to build a bridge over the next several years so that heavy industrial equipment can cross the river and strip away the rain forest trees, the story takes on a different message. It is now a fight between the Amazon tribesman who are witnessing their land being stripped away by the white man and his heavy machinery to build this monster bridge, and a father's perseverance to find his lost son Tommy and bring him home to his mother.

Excellent performances are noted as the actors playing the adult Tomme (Charley Boorman), Tomme's father Bill Markham (Powers Boothe), Jean Markham (Meg Foster) and Tomes' love interest tribeswoman Kachiri (Dira Paes). I found the scenery and interaction amongst the various Amazon tribes provided the audience with some insight as to how the Amazon tribes fought, protected, lived and even forged for food. John Boorman is an accomplished film maker both as a producer and director whose body of work also includes other highly acclaimed films such as Deliverance (1972) and the Tailor of Panama (2001).

The Emerald Forest is an action/adventure story based on some real events which I mentioned earlier. If you can accept the film as nothing more than an opportunity to escape reality for two hours and vision yourself trying to survive in the dense Amazon forest than I believe you will enjoy director John Boorman's visionary story. Get yourself a good drink and some snacks, sit back and escape to The Emerald Forest. I give the film a strong 8 out of 10 rating.

Certainly no bad movie but it makes some wrong choices.

[Boba_Fett1138 · 7/10 · 15 December 2007]

This movie makes some odd choices. On the one hand it's a good looking and also clearly professionally made movie with lots of talent involved but it just makes some wrong choices in its storytelling.

The movie obviously starts of as a dramatic 'based on true' events movie but soon as the movie starts to progresses it starts taking some obvious 'Hollywood' turns, with its emotions and action and the story becomes more unlikely and clichéd. Of course nothing wrong with this, since it definitely makes the movie an entertaining and bit of adventurous one. But in this case the approach doesn't really work out, since it also obviously is a movie that wants to be taken seriously and has a clear message in it. You know, the kind of message to 'save the rain forest'. It also uses lots of technology vs. nature elements. I'll admit that this movie is a better attempt than all Steven Seagal attempts combined but no, that doesn't mean that this movie is a perfect or truly successful attempt on its own. The movie seems to lack the proper emotions to see this as a completely effective one, though the right intentions are definitely there. I mean for instance, the characters within this movie see each other again for the first time in 10 years but yet they seem hardly affected by it all.

The natives scenes also aren't always among the best or most interesting one's out of the movie. Sure the nature environments are beautiful looking but it slows the movie a bit down in the middle, which also is in big contrast with the serious and dramatic first part of the movie and the action filled final part. The entire movie doesn't always feel like one whole. The parts of it are all too disjointed.

It nevertheless it is a rather good- and also entertaining enough movie to watch, despite its obvious flaws and bad choices in the storytelling. And hey, it's got Powers Booth!

7/10

http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

Noble Savages and all that...

[chaucer-1 · 2/10 · 14 March 2005]

I saw this movie when it was first released. I thought that it was an absurd load of hokum then and it certainly hasn't improved with age. The underlying theme is pretty standard tree-hugger stuff; evil, rapacious white men destroying the Garden of Eden and dispossessing the innocent, noble savages along the way. The film claims to be based on a true story, but I'd take that with very large pinch of salt. If indeed it was based on true events then the producer/director has been a bit careless with the some of the facts. The Amazon basin is an enormously hostile environment, just about every critter, bug and bacterium that likes to eat people lives there. Amongst the native Indian tribes, that still live there, the infant mortality rate is something like about 80% and adults who live much past 40 years are rarities. Needless to say that's not the way the place is portrayed in the film. Certainly not cinema verite.