O Curandeiro da Selva

Most people dedicate their time reviewing movies that have been deemed "classic" or "great"...what about the rest of them? True, MEDICINE MAN is not "great", but it gets away with being mildly entertaining. The film follows the exploits of Dr. Rae Crane (Lorraine Bracco) as she descends into the rain forests of Brazil. Her job is to assist and evaluate the mysterious Dr. Campbell (Sean Connery) whose backing is close to being pulled. Everything is fairly lighthearted, until Campbell reveals that he has discovered the cure for cancer. The main tension is that he cannot reproduce it - something that the film spends the majority of the running time dealing with. Eventually, there is a crisis, a climax, etc...

The sad thing is that this should have been a better film. Everything is there: John McTiernan, an under-rated director, who is at home with filming the jungle (see PREDATOR). Sean Connery gives one of his more spirited performances here, he seems to be having fun with the role. The rich photography, by Donald McAlpine, makes MEDICINE MAN a wonderful film to look at. The story is decent, using semi-factual accounts as the basis for the narrative. All this plus one of Jerry Goldsmith's best scores of the 90's...the music simply shimmers and sways like a soft wind through the treetops. So...

Why doesn't this film work? One problem is that you simply do not care about any of the characters (excepting Connery). Lorraine Bracco's character is abrasive, but the failure of her role is due more to the writing than the acting. Sean Connery's role is very well developed; the screenwriters seem to have focused more on the haunted and quirky Robert Campbell, and nobody else. Yes, Bracco's character is annoying and grating and irritating and whines too much, etc., but if it were a stronger character we could have forgiven her for these qualities. Also, the narrative arc of the story seems a bit clipped near the end, what with that whole "twenty-four hours" to find the cure for cancer thing. The action during the finale seems forced and is not really reinforced during the film proper. We see smoke off in the distance once or twice, but there is very little urgency in these scenes. Besides Goldsmith's looming and percussive synth patterns, I would not have known there was a threat at all.

Anyway, MEDICINE MAN just does not come together in a satisfying way. It is however an entertaining film and a must see for Connery fanatics. It is one of those films that open, makes a little money, then is forgotten. These are the films I'm interested in and will continue to review. 6/10

The "Medicine Man" is set in the middle of the Amazon Rainforest which has become home to the eccentric Dr. Robert Campbell (Sean Connery), a biochemist doing field research. In befriending the natives and studying the `Tribal Witch Doctor' (Angelo Barra Moreira), he has accidentally discovered the cure for cancer from a flower extract that grows wild in the rainforest. He is assisted by Dr. Rae Crane (Lorraine Bracco) in trying unsuccessfully to duplicate the formula, before the commercial loggers come in and destroy his hope for a cure. Dr. Crane comes to the jungle with the motive of pulling the research grant for the project, as Dr. Campbell has been uncooperative with the bureaucracy. Coming to the jungle with guilt and regret from a prior research trip, `Morcara,' his work becomes his life, escaping reality and trying to compensate for the devastation he experienced. It was interesting to see how the natives accepted him, brought him into their `circle.' They accepted his medical knowledge and entwined it with their superstitions and natural remedies. He became so protective of the tribe, respecting their way of life, and customs that they come to trust him and call him the `Medicine Man.' The movie was released on February 7, 1992 and while the work of Director John McTierman, was different than his other movies "Hunt for Red October" or the "Predator," Sean Connery played out the part well. The sound of his voice is always welcomed. I've seen him in stronger parts, but I cannot see anyone taking his place beside Lorraine Bracco. The knowledge and wisdom of the experienced is passed to the inexperienced. I liked the environmental message that the director sent. The scenery was great from the tree top scenes to the trip through the jungle and the waterfalls. Anytime elements of nature can be used to heal the human body or someone can survive in the jungle by utilizing the natural habitat is a wonderful thing. It shows us everything actually depends on the natural creation of the earth from which it came.

I've never understood why this movie is so poorly received. Sure, Lorraine Bracco is a bit shrill. No one said she came from a "high class" family, just that she was marrying well. My sister-in-law is a scientist with NIH and she came from humble roots. That Bracco got through to the tribe's medicine man when Connery had failed was the contrast between the two approaches the "white man" could make toward the natives. Bracco's negotiating skills and stubborn common sense contrasted nicely with Connery's unintentionally patronizing approach. Who COULD have been cast who would have been more convincing as the "civilized" woman "going native". Lauren Hutton, maybe. The solution to the mystery of "compound 37" was a genuine surprise, even though it was partially revealed on two separate occasions. The climax was intensely dramatic, ironic and sad; though, it too helped usher in the satisfying conclusion. Jerry Goldsmith's superb score raises what is already an outstanding movie. I don't care about anyone else's opinion. For me, "Medicine Man" is a "10".

When this movie came out in 1992, many critics seemed to feel that it was mediocre, or average at best. Even as a hardcore Connery fan I avoided the film simply based on a handful of reviews I had read in the media at the time.

Fast forward nearly ten years and the mixed reviews here on imdb reinforced my apathy towards the film. It wasn't until I borrowed a copy through a local library that I finally watched the movie just now, and I fail to see why it's supposedly not up to par. I thought it was a fine film in most respects: the storytelling was good, the dialogue was snappy, the cinematography was wonderful, and it had a positive message. It's not an action movie, but I never felt bored at all...if anything, it was a refreshing change of pace and scenery, and Sean Connery continues to astound me with his versatility. His acting was superb, which is not really a big suprise, but he seemed more into this role than some others I've seen him in. Even the wig and ponytail looked real!

Like a lot of other people, I found Lorraine Bracco's character quite annoying, almost insufferable at certain points, but that's the whole point: her character is supposed to be like that, and the truth is that if she didn't come across as so irritating then that would have been failed acting skills on her part. I think she did a great job at being annoying, which is what she was supposed to do. I imagine that if you took some ivy league lab rat scholar and dumped them right in the middle of a situation and place that's totally foreign to them, you'd probably get a reaction like the one she portrayed. I found the two leads had a good chemistry, and the constant tension and conflict between them was very convincing and helped to propel the story along.

All in all an enjoyable film, but some of the other aspects could have and should have been expanded. I felt that they spent too much time searching the trees for the plant they needed, and the whole conflict with the developers was thrown in at too late a juncture. These aren't major failings however, so I'd recommend the film to anyone looking for something a bit different, and it's a must for any Connery fan. Don't wait ten years to see it simply because some critics didn't think it was a masterpiece. Screw the critics!

A fine movie, not to be judged on the basis of Hollywood's usual recipe for storytelling. The eccentric scientist Robert Campbell (Connery) who has found a cure for cancer out in the jungle, is not able to reproduce its exact composition. Biologist Rae Crane (Bracco) biologist has dropped in from academia to be his judge and jury and decide on Campbell's continued funding.

The film pays a fair amount of attention to scientific detail (such as "running baselines" and using "experimental controls") interspersing it throughout with lively and shrewd exchanges between Campbell and Crane. To that they add mildly sarcastic observations on field work and fund-raising committees. Whilst this scientific sub-story line runs along, we are shown glimpses of life in a sympathetic tribe for which Campbell has become a sort of sugar daddy. Ethics and personal choice confront both scientists as they struggle with the decision to reserve the last bit of serum either for the good of humanity or the life of one of the tribe's children.

McTiernan has weaved all these elements excellently and Connery and Bracco play their roles so convincingly that you could be excused for thinking they may have scientific backgrounds in real life.

The film is a feast for educated people - which is probably the reason why many of the critics have missed the fine points and proceeded to rattle off some vitriolic commentary more aimed, in my view, at self-aggrandizement than constructive film criticism. One even complained that Medicine Man didn't quite match up to Die Hard. Now there is a proper comparison for you.