For ten years, engineer Bill Markham searched tirelessly for his son Tommy, who disappeared on the edge of the Brazilian rainforest. Miraculously, he discovers the boy living among the reclusive Amazon tribe that adopted him. This is when Bill’s adventure really begins. Because his son is now an adult tribesman, he expertly traverses this beautiful but dangerous terrain, fearing only those who would take advantage of it. As Bill attempts to “save” him from the uncivilized jungle, Tommy challenges Bill’s ideas of true civilization and his ideas of who needs saving.
Credits: TheMovieDb.
Film actors:
- Bill Markham as Powers Booth
- Tommy: Charlie Boorman
- Gene Markham as Meg Foster
- Young Heather: Yara Vano
- Young Tommy: William Rodriguez
- Heather: Esty Chandler
- Kaqiri: Dilla Paes
- Uwe Werner as Eduardo Conde
- Father Leduc: Ariel Coelho
- Pereira: Peter Malink
- Costa: Mario Borges
- Trader: Átila Iório
- Trader’s Follower: Gabriel Arcanjo
- Carlos: Little Gracindo
- Rico: Arthur Muilenburg
- Paul: Chico Turto
- Varnadi: Rui Poland
- Uluru: Maria Helena Velasco
- Kaya: Tetchie Agbayani
- Map: Paulo Vinícius
- Samambo: Aloisio Flores
- Monkey: Joao Mauricio Carvalho
- Kaqili’s cousin: Isabel Bicudo
- Kachiri’s cousin: Patricia Prisco
- Peggy: Silvana de Faria
Crew:
- Producer: John Paulman
- Screenwriter: Ross Pallenberg
- Original music composer: Brian Gascoigne
- Original music composer: Junior Homrich
- Director of Photography: Philippe Rousselot
- Editor: Ian Crawford
- Executive Producer: Edgar F. Gross
- Co-producer: Michael Dryhurst
- Casting: Flavio R. Tambellini
- Production Design: Simon Holland
- Art Director: Marcos Flaxman
- Art Director: Terry Pritchard
- Costume Design: Clovis Bueno
- Costume Design: Christel Kruse Boorman
- Production Manager: Roberto Barker
- Unit Manager: Andrew Montgomery
- Production Coordinator: Judy Bunn
- Production Coordinator: Gita V. Engelhart
- Makeup artist: Luis Michelotti
- Makeup artist: Beth Presales
Movie review:
- Wuchak: **_Good rainforest movies are marred by eye-rolling sequences with an ecological message attached_**
- An American engineer (Powers Booth) takes his family to the Amazon Basin to build a large dam, but his son suddenly disappears and there are rumors that he may have been taken away by a tribe called the “Invisible Men”. Ten years later, he’s still searching. Will he find him? Will his son (Charlie Boorman) recognize him? Meg Foster is present as wife/mother.
- The Emerald Forest (1985) has a similar storyline to The Horseman (1970), although it involves teenagers and features the Amazonian setting of Fitzcarraldo (1982). It influenced later films like Dances with Wolves (1990) and, in terms of “look”, Apocalypse (2006). Directed by John Boorman, this is a quality production.
- Unfortunately, this is the least of these films and therefore legitimately obscure. Not only is this an unnecessary environmental message in the second half, but worse, a ridiculous allusion to the Rain Dance. (Why of course!)
- Isn’t it ironic that today’s “natives” in the Americas have god-like powers and sage-like status in movies? (I put “aboriginal” in quotes because they are actually the descendants of settlers from Asia via the Bering Land Bridge). If these Amazon Indians were that powerful, dealing with technologically advanced invaders or hostile tribes would be a piece of cake.
- Another criticism is the unrealistic depiction of The Invisible Man. It’s too heavenly, and too little emphasis is placed on the mundanity and hardship inherent in life in the deep equatorial forests. For example, women of marriageable age appear too fresh and perfect for living in the harsh challenges of the jungle. In other words, they look like girls living a relatively soft life with modern conveniences (I’ve seen real life articles/photos in National Geographic and they are very different). “Revelations” and “Playing in God’s Fields” (1991) both offer a less dreamy depiction.
- The story is inspired by a purportedly 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 him sixteen years to find his son who had completely assimilated into the primitive culture. In response to these deviations, it is said that the script is based on several real-life stories, not just this one.
- The 1 hour and 54 minute film was shot in Brazil with additional production in the UK.
- Grade: C+
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