Der Smaragdwald (1985)
53KDer Smaragdwald: Directed by John Boorman. With Powers Boothe, Meg Foster, Yara Vaneau, William Rodriguez. After the son of engineer Bill Markham is abducted by an aboriginal tribe on the edge of the rain forest, the engineer spends the next 10 years searching for him.
“THE EMERALD FOREST sees John Boorman returning to the dark heart of the worldu0026#39;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.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe 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 u0026#39;70s greats like ROLLING THUNDER. Thereu0026#39;s suspense a-plenty, along with strong turns from both Boothe and the directoru0026#39;s son.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eThe filmu0026#39;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 Boormanu0026#39;s skill at handling the material with subtlety and grace.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eTHE EMERALD FOREST is virtually unknown today – I caught it tucked away in a late-night showing – but it doesnu0026#39;t deserve to be; DELIVERANCE is the better known effort but this comes close at frequent intervals.”
