Dez Dias de Agonia

I saw this when I was 17 and haven't seen it since. The 'CBS Late Movie' used to show it on a regular basis at one point. I remember how sad and upsetting it was, it truly made me sick to my stomach. Effects then weren't what they are today, but nevertheless, it conveyed the feeling of being alone in the Amazon, after losing both parents and searching for a way out, very well. I remember the bugs and maggots the most, so realistic they were, eating her flesh. It's a dark film which was controversial subject matter at the time, even though likely it was strongly edited for TV. I wish I remembered more details, and if I ever get the chance to see it again, I can comment more. I have been looking for this for years. I believe it may have been shown on CBS under yet another title. I have no idea whether it was ever released on video.

I saw this movie back in the 80s I think, and I'm compelled to finally write a review because just a couple of days ago Franz Lidz wrote an extensive NYT piece on Juliane Koepcke titled "She Fell Nearly 2 Miles, and Walked Away". Absolutely compelling and quite unbelievable, yet truly extraordinary courage from Juliane.

The thing I remember most about this film is that it used to air on local KTLA TV (Ch. 5) during every Christmas season during the mid to late 70s, mainly due to the fact that the true story took place on or near Christmas Eve. It was always a bit disturbing to see the hell that this girl goes through, being the lone survivor of a plane crash in the Peruvian jungle. The graphic scene of this young girl pulling leeches out of her infected leg made quite an impression on this young viewer. Not quite the kind of Christmas cheer I was used to seeing at the time. Definitely not a Rankin-Bass production.

I first saw this movie back in the 1980's and now in 2006 this movie still is one of the best movies I have ever seen! I would recommend anyone to look at this movie. You will not be sorry. It is well acted out, so real and never a dull moment. The acting is superb and the location makes the movie seem like you are there. From the beginning right up to the end, this movie is the type that makes you lose your attention. The actress does an excellent job of portraying the girl who survived this horrific plane crash in the Amazon and it shows how she managed to survive in the Amazon all alone. It is unbelievable that anyone could survive under such conditions. This is why this movie is so appealing. The fact that this is a true story makes the movie even more interesting and to think that a young girl could survive from this ordeal is overwhelming. I find this movie one that I can watch over and over again and one that I never get tired of. This is indeed quite a compliment as I have hundreds of movies! I would say this is probably my favorite movie and the best I have ever seen!

**This story has some grossness, some religiocentric child making assumptions and some nostalgia.**

When I was a kid in the 1970s/early 80s my local tv station (channel 55 on the dial) ran a 55 hour Christmas movie marathon.

ANYWAY...I watched all 55 hours of it one year because I had the flu. And there was some movie on at like 3am on Christmas morning (!!!) about this teenage girl who survived a plane crash in the jungle and had to hobble her wounded self through the jungle to get back to civilization. I guess they thought the miracle of her survival was Christmassy. Anyway through all the horrors of her struggling through the jungle the one I remember to this day is the scene where she's popping botfly larvae out of her festering wounds. MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!

And that's why I always associate botfly larvae with Christmas. True story.