Le montagne della luna

The British Empire owed a lot to opportunistic soldiers of fortune as well as to explorers: men who risked their lives (and the lives of others) for profit, fame and the recognition from their peers for their accomplishments. In the last category one could think of men like Livingstone, Stanley, Scott and Burton. Captain Richard Francis Burton (whose life we follow in this film) risked a lot for the sake of discovery (to find the source of the Nile) but at the same time he was also a man with a genuine interest and outmost respect for the indigenous peoples and cultures found deep in Africa.

In the film we see Burton joining forces with a young and ambitious Lieutenant (Lt. Speke) to travel again to his beloved Africa to locate the source of Nile with an expedition funded by the Royal Geographical Society. The film is an account of this trip but shows also events before and after this. Watching this movie we can grasp the differences between the two men, their strong ties and friendship during their common effort in the expedition and also later how each one coped with their success at home (London).

The Mountains of the Moon is a fascinating film. It tells a great story without romanticizing the situations during and after the trip to Africa. Burton, Speke and their comrades endured too much to find the source of Nile, and all of them for their own reasons. The novel by William Harrison (that this movie is based on) does not fall into the trap of trying to imitate Conrad's 'Heart of Darkness' but gives us a different perspective altogether. Do not miss this film.

Capt. Sir Richard Francis Burton and his mate, John Hanning Speke's travels to find the source of the Nile, and travails to claim the rigth to say that either of these two gentlemen adventurers discovered the source of the Nile makes for one of the biggest and best EPIC adventure films in recent memory. The performances from Patrick Bergin (better known for PATRIOT GAMES and SLEEPING WITH THE ENEMY), and Ian Glen (last seen on Broadway opposite Nicole Kidman in THE BLUE ROOM), turn in career-making perfomances as the two polar opposites who race to find the glory at the end of finding the source of the Nile. Bob Rafaelson, the man behind the camera, does not feel the need to spare the audience of any graphic details from the expeditions (including spearings, native sex, castrations, and ugly political maneuvering), and in the end, this is the best way to go since sparing us would have cheated us. Nor does he feel the need to spare us from any ticks in the characters themselves (Burton's blatant drinking and womanizing) and their questions (Is Speke gay? Who does end up with the bigger ego?). But the film's greatest achievements are:

1 - It makes you understand why these two gentlemen lived the lives they lived.

2- It makes you want to read more about them.

3- It really does make you feel like you too, got to go to see the Mountains of The Moon.

Every time I watch "Mountains of the Moon," I grow more and more fascinated by it. An epic drama and adventure, an exploration of what makes a hero and the value of friendship... this movie is a marvel.

I barely know where to begin. The acting is exceptional, of course. Patrick Bergin really makes Captain Richard Francis Burton come alive, so much so that I started reading up on Burton on my own after seeing the movie. His Burton is a man of great courage and insatiable curiosity, but also of great pride (the film only hints at Burton's infamous sexual escapades). Iain Glen brings great depth to John Hanning Speke, a man who desires greatness but cannot escape his fundamental weakness. It would have been so easy to make these two characters into square-jawed cartoons or place them in the easy Great Hero / Cowardly Villain mold, but director Bob Rafaelson, the script, and the actors wisely give us three-dimensional real people.

While I was watching this movie, I felt like I was actually transported to Africa in the 1850s, when the first explorers ventured into what was truly the Dark Continent. You see Burton and Speke's expedition endure weather, illness, injury, and attacks by hostile tribesmen, bringing home the reality of how dangerous these expeditions really were. By the time the film ended, I felt I had been to Africa itself.

If you want to see a real epic and a fine, exciting film, this is the one to see.

"Mountains of the Moon" is the kind of epic that seems to need a director like Bob Rafelson. I hoped this would be his "Lawrence of Arabia," but something goes amiss in the construction of the drama which Rafelson coauthored. For instance, we learn more about the two protagonists in two single lines than the 40 minutes that begin the film: Speke: (asking permission to organize some specific details of setting up an expedition in to the interior of Africa) responds, "I already have"; and for Burton: (a voice over) "Dear Isabelle…." The meandering, surprisingly cruel, first 40 minutes of the film become irrelevant.

Speke and Burton's search to find the source of the Nile is great material for a film. The scenery alone would lead any director to jump at the chance, but as so often occurs with films about Africa, the Continent overpowers the human drama. Rafelson is a master of human intimacy, and this story of two men's friendship which turns to rivalry is badly mangled by the screenplay. Burton's life alone is a huge trove for the subject of a film, and Rafelson seems to never grip the nature of these men, the essence of the story nor how to tell it.

Yet, the film is worth spending time with only to lavish in the effort of these two men and perhaps the last time when "discovery" meant a places on a map.

In the Nineteenth Century, the British writer, geographer and explorer Captain Richard Francis Burton (Patrick Bergin) meets the Lieutenant John Hanning Speke (Iain Glen) during a dangerous journey in Africa and after being saved by Speke, they become friends. Soon they team-up to seek the source of the Nile River sponsored by the Royal Geographic Society. Meanwhile Burton meets his fan Isabel Arundell (Fiona Shaw) and they get married to each other. Burton and Speke travel for many months through Africa where they face brutal tribes, diseases, hunger and many other dangers together. Speke finds a lake that he believes it is the source of Nile River but Burton disagrees and believes they need more scientific research to be sure. When they separately return to London, the ambitious publisher Larry Oliphant (Richard E. Grant) stirs up a quarrel between the two friends and Speke travels alone to Africa trying to prove his findings. Will their friendship end?

"Mountains of the Moon" is a fascinating adventure with a story of friendship based on a historic event, the journey of Captain Richard Francis Burton and Lieutenant John Hanning Speke to the African Great Lakes. The plot may be not accurate but the film is engaging and the landscapes are breathtaking. The viewer does not feel the 136 minutes running time. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Montanhas da Lua" ("Mountains of the Moon")