Contrary to the only other 'review' of this film, Amazon is a fairly interesting and serious attempt to blend the adventure and art genres.
Director Mika Kaurismaki has clearly learned a lot from the Werner Herzog playbook, as there are many echoes of both Fitzcarraldo (with the Caterpillar filling in for the riverboat) and Aguirre. Amazon manages to make a decent case for rain forest preservation without bashing us over the head with that thesis. The film's major weakness is,predictably, its star turn by the acting-challenged Rae Dawn Chong, who fills in needlessly as the love interest. Otherwise this is a leisurely-paced but intriguing look at the greed driving the (presumably still ongoing) deforestation of this ecological landmark.
Director Mika Kaurismaki has clearly learned a lot from the Werner Herzog playbook, as there are many echoes of both Fitzcarraldo (with the Caterpillar filling in for the riverboat) and Aguirre. Amazon manages to make a decent case for rain forest preservation without bashing us over the head with that thesis. The film's major weakness is,predictably, its star turn by the acting-challenged Rae Dawn Chong, who fills in needlessly as the love interest. Otherwise this is a leisurely-paced but intriguing look at the greed driving the (presumably still ongoing) deforestation of this ecological landmark.