The Emerald Forest, currnetly on at the BFI, tells the story of a young American boy who was kidnapped by an Amerindian tribe called The Invisible People whilst on a visit to see the dam which his father was building in the Amazon jungle. His father searches for him constantly for 10 years, before finally finding him, now a well-respected member of the Indian tribe, recently married to an Indian girl, and with no desire to return to his former life.
However, when another Indian tribe, called the Fierce People, attacks their camp and steals all the young girls, including his wife, to sell them to a brothel, he decides to go and ask his father for help.
His father becomes disallusioned about the effects of encroachment on the Indians' lands, and the fact that the building of the dam will increase this encroachment, and during a tremendous storm, which threatened the stability of the dam walls, he ensures their destruction byblowing them up.
The film raises serious questions about the morality of destroying the lives and cultures of the Indians; although to our eyes, they may look terribly primitive, they may also be happy and unwilling to embrace the 21st. century, which contains bad as well as good aspects.
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