No Rio das Amazonas

Didactic, panoramic and almost classical documentary aboutthe river of all rivers: the Amazon. A small film crew, armedwith a large 35mm camera, travelled down the river in a smallboat to record life on and by the water. The journey took themfrom Belem to Manaus, concentrating on the unknown lower reachesof the Amazon. The travelogue of the film-makers documentseveryday day life along the river. They allowed themselves to beinspired by the seventy-plus and wise doctor Paulo Vanzolini, theguide and host with an answer to everything: he knows the namesof all the plants and animals, he knows the secrets of countlessherbs, he knows the villages and the people, knows how long theylive and die, he knows how to build an insect-free house by theriver and even everything you can make from palm-pulp.The film is an ode to life by the river and comprises beautifullyphotographed, colourful pictures of the river in the early-morning sun, in mist and rain. The film shows how dangerous theelements are for the people, but also points out that all thesetraditional ways of life are about to disappear. The proud andeternal river through the eternal rain-forests has turned out inthis century to be painfully temporal.