Medicine Man - The Last Days of Eden

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Movie
German title Medicine Man - The Last Days of Eden
Original title Medicine Man
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1992
length 102 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director John McTiernan
script Tom Schulman
Sally Robinson
production Sean Connery
Donna Dubrow
Andrew G. Vajna
music Jerry Goldsmith
camera Donald McAlpine
cut Mary Jo Markey
Michael R. Miller
John W. Stuart
occupation

Medicine Man - The Last Days of Eden (Original title: Medicine Man ) is an American adventure film from 1992 . Directed by John McTiernan and written by Tom Schulman and Sally Robinson .

action

The Scottish doctor Robert Campbell conducts research in the wilderness of the Amazon with a native tribe, where he has since taken on the role of medicine man. The New York scientist Rae Crane, who represents Campbell's sponsors, goes to him to bring him a requested gas chromatograph and to assess the progress of his work. She is too inexperienced for Campbell and he wants to get rid of her immediately. Only when he learns that the assistants he has requested have all long since retired or no longer work for the company does he become more accessible. Rae Crane explains to him that his sponsors are very dissatisfied with him because he moves the station wherever and whenever he wants, does not reply to mail and does not send any more reports. He hadn't called in for three years. His wife, his original research partner, had long since divorced him. When Rae Crane reveals to him that she was sent here to decide whether he would be supported at all, she is allowed to stay. She also impresses him with her analysis of the results of the gas chromatograph, even if she suspects that he, who greeted her drunk the night before and just doing ritual dances with the natives, only discovered a cure for a huge morning hangover.

Campbell hesitantly reveals to her that he was able to obtain an active ingredient against cancer from a locally growing plant . He can refute her initial skepticism with one attempt, but has to confess that his attempts to reproduce the active ingredient have failed. He only has a very small amount of the precious serum, which Rae Crane takes immediately so that Campbell doesn't waste it in experiments. But when a member of the tribe can only be saved by the serum, she gives it out after visible internal struggles.

A search for the plant initiated by the two researchers is supported by the natives. They collect large quantities of the plant and Rae Crane selects the best ones to study, as some of the plants are ant-infested and are discarded.

Ultimately, the search remains unsuccessful and only the medicine man could still help. Unfortunately, however, the field researcher Campbell accidentally replaced it, whereupon the medicine man left the tribe after his disempowerment. Campbell had successfully treated the pain of an Indian with an Alka-Seltzer , accidentally embarrassing and driving the medicine man away. However, the medicine man refused any collaboration with Campbell even beforehand and rejected him with the word "Mocara".

Campbell explains to Rae Crane, whom he only calls “Dr. Bronx "or" Bronx ", an allusion to their place of origin, addresses that one day an" overzealous son of a bitch "found a cheap pain reliever, with the medicine man in Mocara supporting him. Tragically, however, this village and all of its inhabitants were wiped out. The whole tribe and the local medicine man died of an illness (swine fever) brought into Mocara by employees of the ambitious and irresponsible “nerd”. The now relieved medicine man refuses any cooperation with the reference to the betrayal of the medicine man in Mocara. He believes that the betrayal of the medicine man's secrets evoked punishment from the gods and this led to the extermination of the tribe.

After an argument, Rae Crane throws the field researcher Campell at the head: "Oh, you're going to hell!" Campell turns away and says inaudibly to her: "I will for sure."

In one of the many very good dialogues between Rae Crane and Campbell she suggests that he should apologize to the medicine man, referring to the gift of the Alka-Seltzer to the Indian, which disempowered the medicine man. Campbell answers surprisingly: “I hardly think he knows that it was me.” By that he means the extermination of the tribe in Mocara. Rae Crane is shocked when she now has to realize this truth, but Campbell begins to understand increasingly and persuades him to search for the medicine man. Campbell agrees and they go on a journey through the jungle. When Rae Crane shows signs of exhaustion, Campbell gives her a native medicine that immediately gets her back on her feet (a caffeine extract). She begins to understand that Campbell now knows many secrets of the natural medicine of the Indians, but regards all these findings as unimportant and never passed them on to find the cure for cancer. The medicine man appears to them one night on their journey and paints a blue line on her forehead, which like a tattoo cannot be washed off. In the morning she asks Campbell if they are looking in the wrong valley, who looks at them and says there are sure signs that they are in the right valley. He had seen the line long ago.

It comes to a fight between Campbell and the smaller, weak-looking medicine man, which Campbell does not want to (and is not allowed to) win. The fight ends without a winner when Campbell hires him after the medicine man reveals that the active ingredient does not come from the plant. This is only the apartment of ants. But the medicine man now also realizes that Campbell is devastated and that he was only interested in finding this cure to give to others.

Campbell is frustrated, but at the last moment finds the producer of the active ingredient: a special ant species that only exists in this place and uses this plant as a place to live. He now also understands that the medicine man intentionally gave him the right hint several times. The medicine man had not confided the secret to him directly and, according to his belief, had not angered the gods.

Meanwhile, a group of investors is burning a swath through the tropical rainforest to build a road. Campbell tries desperately to prevent this, but fails. The fire gets out of control and the ants as well as the village and all research documents are destroyed. Since Crane is now convinced of Campbell's work after initial skepticism, she decides to stay with him and look with him for another occurrence of the ants. The medicine man has returned to his tribe and is helping him find a new home. He is now also convinced of Campbell's sincerity and ready to share his knowledge with him. In the meantime, Crane, who wore heavy snake-bite-proof shoes at the beginning of her journey, is walking barefoot through the jungle and wearing the foot jewelry of the locals to the non-washable tattoo on her forehead, which the medicine man gave her the night before their first conscious meeting. She no longer needs "Jahauser", the native interpreter, because she speaks to the natives just like Campbell now in their language.

Reviews

The editorial staff of Film-Dienst wrote that the film was "a little exciting, but superbly photographed eco-fairy tale that addresses the environmental degradation and irreparable losses that go with it" .

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times on February 11, 1992 that the film had all of the elements necessary to enjoy the film, but they would never come together. Some scenes are beautiful.

Awards

Lorraine Bracco was nominated for the Golden Raspberry in 1993 for this film .

backgrounds

The film was shot in Veracruz ( Mexico ) and Brazil . Its production cost was an estimated $ 40 million , of which $ 10 million was for the Connery fee and $ 3 million for the script. The film grossed approximately $ 45.5 million in US cinemas.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Medicine Man - The Last Days of Eden in the Lexicon of International FilmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used , accessed January 21, 2008
  2. ^ Film review by Roger Ebert , February 11, 1992, accessed January 21, 2008
  3. ↑ Location for Medicine Man , accessed January 21, 2008
  4. ^ This and That for Medicine Man , accessed January 21, 2008
  5. ^ Box office / business for Medicine Man , accessed January 21, 2008