Many predict that the biggest political issues of the next century will be in the domain of ecology. Some of these trends can already be observed today, with the environmentalist movements gaining strength all over the globe and even coming to power in countries like Germany. However, in the 1980s, care for the environment and the long-term interests of humanity didn't appear as attractive or important during the reign of neo-conservative ideology, the new Cold War, and extreme materialism. In the beginning of the 1990s, things changed - environmentalism became fashionable in the era of emerging "political correctness," and Hollywood tried to cash in. The results were mixed, ranging from disasters like Waterworld, solid but overhyped epics like Dances with Wolves, and interesting failures like Medicine Man. Unfortunately, that trend came too late for a movie that could have put all of them to shame - The Emerald Forest, an ecological adventure by John Boorman, made in 1985.
The plot of the movie is allegedly inspired by a true story. Bill Markham (played by Powers Boothe) is an American engineer working on the great dam project in the middle of the Amazon jungle. One day, he brings his family to the building site, but that little trip ends with his young son Tommy wandering into the forest. There, he gets abducted by an Indian tribe known as the "Invisible People." For the next ten years, Bill spends every spare moment searching for his son in the Amazon. Unfortunately, the "Invisible People" are one of those tribes that haven't had any contact with the outside world. But that doesn't bother Tommy (played by Charly Boorman), who was adopted by tribal chief Wanadi (played by Rui Polonah) and became a member of the tribe himself. When Bill finally reunites with him, Tommy has already forgotten his parents and the "civilized" way of life. He seems content with his life, so he decides not to listen to his father's pleas for a return to civilization. Father and son part again, but not for the last time. The village of the "Invisible People" gets attacked by the rival tribe of the "Fierce People," who take away all the women, including Tommy's wife Kachiri (played by Dira Paes), and sell them to sleazy brothel owners at the outskirts of the jungle. Unable to fight guns with bows and spears, Tommy must seek his father's help, which brings him on a dangerous journey back to the heart of civilization.
Unlike most ecological movies that either try to shove the environmentalist agenda down viewers' throats or, even worse, use ecology as a cheap excuse for lame action/thriller plots, The Emerald Forest takes a very subtle approach. This shouldn't surprise anyone, as the movie's author, John Boorman, had a love for nature, its beauty, and its dangers long before environmental trends became fashionable. The tone of the movie isn't preachy – the script by Rosco Pallemberg is set in a virgin Amazon jungle threatened by encroaching civilization, but Boorman is less interested in the conflict between nature and progress than in the splendid opportunity to make a very personal film – a classical adventure that is almost impossible to imagine in Hollywood these days. Boorman obviously enjoyed what he was doing, as he chose his teenage son Charley to play Tommy; this choice was a good one, as the boy was perfect as the lead character who symbolizes the innocence of the Amazon and the natural state of man. His green eyes and innocent beauty correspond with the innocent beauty of the rainforests. The nominal lead, Powers Boothe, is overshadowed by him, just as Meg Foster as his mother is cast more for her green eyes than her acting ability. Perhaps because of Boothe, the conflict between the father and son isn't as powerful and interesting as it should have been.
The opportunity to have some father/son drama with cultural clash themes isn't fully utilized in the first part, but some of the script problems become more visible in the second. Boorman is forced to admit that the Amazon jungle isn't the all-friendly and blissful place it may seem to Tommy and the "Invisible People." So, someone has to represent the dark side of the Amazon, and that role is filled by the tribe of the "Fierce People" - whose villainy might remind people of the native characters seen in the classic Tarzan films (they are even painted black only to illustrate their alignment). However, the "two tribe" concept isn't that simplistic; it is implied that civilization stripped away the forest that used to be the hunting ground for the "Fierce People," thus forcing them to go to war with other tribes. However, the evil of the "Fierce People" is underlined by the way they accept civilization – unlike the noble and purist "Invisible People," who see white men as "Termite People" (who eat away at their world) and whose vision of the "Termite People" world is frightening (as witnessed by Tommy in his short trip to Bill's city) - they are ready to accept civilization first through guns, then through liquor, while corrupting and degrading themselves in the process.
Boorman brings the film to a climax with the showdown in the brothel, providing the audience with the standard action scenes. But instead of ending the film immediately after that, with a bitter-sweet note (Bill warns that civilization will ultimately prevail), Boorman provides the audience with an implausible fairy tale finale - Indian prayers bring a flood that washes away the dam as a symbol of civilization. However, that scene becomes even more implausible with the addition of Bill, who tries to blow up his life's work in the process. The ending - Tommy, Kachiri, and his friends living happily ever after in a natural paradise - contrasts sharply with the end credits, which warn the audience about the sad reality of the Amazon – the destruction of the rainforests and the silent genocide of the Indigenous people.
However, despite all these flaws, The Emerald Forest is not only beautiful and entertaining, but also a thought-provoking film - one that was right on the mark with many burning issues of today's world.
RATING: 7/10 (+++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.movies.reviews on December 17th, 1998)
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Reading this post made me think a lot. This film also forced me to think about the importance of environment and nature. These issues hold even more importance in today's world. Thank you for writing about this film and its messages.