Escape to the movies with one of our Movie Friday selections. Each week we review a film with environmentally or socially-responsible themes that’s currently in theaters or available on DVD.
Seen a good eco-flick lately? Send us a review of 100 words or less and look for your review in the next Movie Friday!
Amidst the magnificent greenery of the Amazon, Dr. Rae Crane ( Lorraine Bracco )--a Bronx-bred scientist with impressive credentials and scant field experience--is transformed from fish-out-of-water to impassioned jungle girl. The motifs are dated, but if you can get past Bracco's histrionics, the movie examines very real, serious threats to the Amazon and its indigenous inhabitants. The "Crocodile Dundee" to Bracco's damsel is Dr. Robert Campbell ( Sean Connery ), a cantankerous and eccentric scientist who thinks he's found a cure for cancer among the native flora and fauna. When I first watched this movie over sixteen years ago, I felt an overwhelming sadness which developed into a desire to advocate for the rainforest. During a more recent viewing, Bracco's overacting and a few exaggerated plot elements distracted me from strong emotion. Nevertheless, the rainforest still stole the show.
Escape to the movies with one of our Movie Friday selections. Each week we review a film with environmentally or socially-responsible themes that’s currently in theaters or available on DVD.
Seen a good eco-flick lately? Send us a review of 100 words or less and look for your review in the next Movie Friday!
Medicine Man (1992)
Available on DVD
Amidst the magnificent greenery of the Amazon, Dr. Rae Crane ( Lorraine Bracco )--a Bronx-bred scientist with impressive credentials and scant field experience--is transformed from fish-out-of-water to impassioned jungle girl. The motifs are dated, but if you can get past Bracco's histrionics, the movie examines very real, serious threats to the Amazon and its indigenous inhabitants. The "Crocodile Dundee" to Bracco's damsel is Dr. Robert Campbell ( Sean Connery ), a cantankerous and eccentric scientist who thinks he's found a cure for cancer among the native flora and fauna. When I first watched this movie over sixteen years ago, I felt an overwhelming sadness which developed into a desire to advocate for the rainforest. During a more recent viewing, Bracco's overacting and a few exaggerated plot elements distracted me from strong emotion. Nevertheless, the rainforest still stole the show.
--Review by Della Watson