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87 of 97 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
This is my favorite movie of all time, January 9, 2002
The beauty and power of the rainforest juxtaposed to the beauty and power of "civilization," on of my favorite themes. Who is the true savage? Powers Boothe plays a construction engineer building a dam in the rainforest that is increasingly changing the structure of the most valuable real estate on earth. Not only is it effecting the plants and animals, creating desert where there was once rich vegetation, but it is affecting the indigenous tribes in horrendous ways. Charley Boorman plays the beautiful young son who is kidnapped by the leader of the "Invisible People." His father and mother (played by the beautiful Meg Foster) spent the next ten years searching for the boy as he is being raised in tribal customs. Meanwhile, as the living space for the tribes grows increasingly smaller, the "Invisible People," who are basically good hearted, land loving indigenous people who keep to themselves and only want to survive, are increasingly threatened by the "Fierce People," a carnivorous, cannibalistic tribe who are desperately seeking space for themselves. We watch Tomme grow up, learn from his new "father" who loves him dearly and was perhaps initially attracted to the tyke's golden blond hair and his own need for a son. We watch Tomme go through a ritual rite of passage that sends him on a dangerous quest for the special green rock that allows what are now his people to become "Invisible." It is in this quest that Tomme and his father cross paths again, and a lesson is learned about the cost of the damage civilization has brought to what is truly a beautiful and rich country better off left alone. For a long time I couldn't find this movie anywhere. Not even at amazon.com. I cherish the copy I did finally find. I am thrilled to see that it is now available on DVD, but would like to see a DVD created with educational "special features" about the rain forest and the fight to preserve it. That's really what this movie is all about. See it now, before it gets away again.
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33 of 36 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
So . . . what did he say?, June 21, 2003
I have to give this film five stars for all the reasons that the other fans of this movie discuss. This commentary is on an unusual glitch that I discovered with the DVD. I'm referring to the MGM "Contemporary Classics" edition (in case there's another version out there). I was surprised to discover that, when the native people were speaking, some of the subtitling was left off. Moments of indigenous dialogue were left un-subtitled in the VHS version (moments when a character appeared to be saying something like "Move" or "Hey, look."). However, with the DVD, there was one scene where a bit of dialogue that was significant to the development of the plot went unsubtited, and we were all left in the dark. It happened in only one significant scene, that I noticed, and eventually it was apparent what the character had said, but it was still frustrating and strange. However, I still recommend that you get the DVD. When comparing scenes between the DVD and my old VHS copy (in order to see what had been said during the previously mentioned scene), I discovered that the old pan and scan version occasionally cut out almost 50% of the screen! With a film this beautiful, this is intolerable! If you have this on VHS and are considering upgrading to DVD, I recommend that you do so - the visual pay-off is great! But keep your hands on the old VHS copy, unless you know the dialogue from memory.
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33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"When You Hear The Toucan, Danger Is Near" ~ A Termite Child From The Dead World, August 10, 2005
Bill Markham (Powers Boothe), an American engineer supervising a development project in the Amazon Rainforest has his young son Tomme (Charley Boorman) abducted by an elusive Indian tribe known as "The Invisible People." Bill spends the next ten years combing the jungles trying to find Tomme and bring him home.
When they are finally reunited Tomme is now a young man and the adopted son of the tribal chief and shaman (Ruy Polanah). He has also chosen a wife and is about to be married. And so the struggle begins, not only between father and son, but between two very foreign cultures in search of mutual understanding and acceptance.
While the two fathers and son work through the implications of their chance meeting danger looms on the horizon. A neighboring tribe of cannibals known as "The Fierce People" will soon attack. The ensuing confrontation will force Bill to join in the battle in an effort to defeat a mutual enemy.
Everything about this film is first rate. Acting (Powers Boothe, Charley Boorman and Ruy Polanah), directing (John Boorman), cinematography, and screenplay. It even has an important message to get across (saving the Rainforest) and does so without preaching to the audience or jeopardizing the integrity of the story.
It has been some twenty years since the release of this film, yet it still remains to be relatively unknown by a vast majority of movie watchers. Why it hasn't received more attention by now is a total mystery to me. This is one of the true undiscovered gems of cinema that everyone should experience. Definitely one of my all-time top ten films!
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