The Emerald Forest

I'm wrapping up my look back at some forgotten Powers Boothe gems with one of his most powerful performances in 1985's The Emerald Forest.

Boothe stars as Bill Markham, an engineer who has uprooted his family to Brazil so he can help with the construction of a dam. One day while they are having a picnic on the edge of a rainforest, Bill's young son Tommy, Charley Boorman, wanders away and is abducted by an Indian who is trying to protect him from the construction created by Bill's dam. In a panic, Bill goes looking for his son, but has no luck. He spends the next ten years searching. By this time Tommy has been taking in by the Indians tribe and has become one of them. Bill finally does find him, but taking him back home proves to be a challenge since it's a world that Tommy doesn't remember.

This is a terrific film with plenty of drama and action. Boothe does a great job, as does Boorman who happens to be the son of the director, John Boorman. Boorman is a master when it comes to this kind of material, which is loosely based on a true story. There's also a great message about protecting the rain forests.

This is an intense drama with plenty of action. It's available on dvd and blu ray.