Catharina_Sweden I liked this movie a lot. It began as a story of a lost child and the father's never-ending search for him, and that is of course heart-rendering to all parents. But then it became so much more, not least a statement against the white man's ongoing destruction of the rain-forests - compared to the native Indians sustainable life-style in accord with nature.One got to learn a lot about the native Indians' life in the rain-forests, and this was very interesting... although I cannot help asking, if it was not just a LITTLE bit embellished..? I mean, not every tribe would have such a wise and empathic chief for instance, and I suppose not every father would have accepted a suitor from another race for his daughter, that easily... adopted or not.This movie evoked a lot of thoughts and questions. For instance I asked myself: could I have been happy if I had been abducted by such a tribe when I was a little girl? Would their tribal life, including very early marriages, many child-births and tasks strictly divided between men and women, and sometimes spiced up with magic, have been worse than the life that we modern western women have? When we try to juggle family and career? Provided that life with the tribe would really have been as idyllic as in the movie, I cannot answer that question with a definite "yes" or "no"...

Ed Miseta 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.

dave-sturm 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.

tedg I like to watch in pairs, and this was paired with Herzog's "Green Ants Dream."The central character here is a teen, played by the director's son, who is kidnapped by Amazonian Indians at six and raised in nature. There are threats, adventures, encounters with "civilization." They provide the focus of the energy in this thing. Its all about that energy which we take from the juice of adolescence, perceive as the energy of an action movie and conflate (as we are intended to) with the natural richness of the rainforest.Its a simple trick, but by gosh it works. Why is not a mystery: the teen drive is transformed into something pure here, done so by the actresses who play the teen Indian girls, lovely, and effectively nude. In order to underscore the point, the plot has them (importantly, as a group) kidnapped into civilization as a the complement of the original kidnapping. But the purpose here is prostitution. When someone knows what they are doing and delivers the goods, its always a remarkable thing. The narrative engineering conveys the lack of engineering, and makes us desire the purity of encountering things without artifice.Conveying this notion is then mixed with a completely unrelated message about the destruction of the rainforest and its central importance to the global ecology. Its rather dishonest, this, but because its such a noble cause we let it slip. But its a shame. In their defense, the acknowledge that just being native doesn't endow goodness: there is an "evil" tribe. Part of the tragedy is not shown: natives everywhere in the world aggressively damage the environment as much as their capabilities allow.The perfect delicacy of this puts "Apocalypto" to shame. Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.