Dark Green (2021)

Directed by: Jesper Buijvoets | 52 minutes | documentary | With: Paul Rosolie

‘Dark Green’ follows adventurer, biologist and storyteller Paul Rosolie as he ventures deep into the Peruvian jungle. He still has guidance for the first part over the Las Piedras, the river that forms the lifeblood of the area, but at a certain point he continues his journey alone, on foot and packed with little more than a tent and inflatable boat, looking to one of the last wildernesses on Earth. It is a journey into the interior of the jungle, but at the same time a search for the relationship of modern man with the last pieces of untouched nature. As the camera zooms out, the lone naturalist becomes a smaller speck in an overwhelming landscape.

As the film progresses, we learn more about the area. What is so unique about this region of Peru, a province so rich in natural beauty that it bears the name Mother of God (Madre de Dios)? What dangers lurk? And how does Paul commit himself to protect this enormously species-rich area against advancing logging and burning of jungles?

The first part of ‘Dark Green’ is primarily a portrait of one of the most pristine parts of the Amazon. We see Rosolie trying to make his way through dense jungles and swamps, constantly spied by the curious eyes of the spider monkeys watching him from the trees. Images of the journey through the jungle are interspersed with short shots of the lush animal life: colorful macaws and toucans, tarantulas, praying mantis, caimans and tejus: these are just a small selection of the many creatures that live here and the Amazon region’s largest biological create a treasure trove on earth. The sights and sounds of the jungle fauna and flora predominate, occasionally interspersed with the musings of the human adventurer who fully immerses himself in all the natural beauty that surrounds him.

The second part of the film is more factual in nature and above all a strong plea for the protection of the unique piece of Peruvian wilderness that we can see up close in the first half hour. Rosolie enthusiastically tells what is needed for this and why he has made protecting this area his life mission. It shouldn’t be that hard, he says. Unlike in many other natural areas, there is no human-animal conflict here (predators that attack livestock, large herbivores that plunder fields) that undermines support for nature conservation. In fact, the Brazil nut, a fruit that can only be harvested in an intact ecosystem and with the help of agoutis and orchid bees, even offers economic opportunities without having to sacrifice forest for it.

Rosolie’s message becomes even more powerful when you compare the richness of animals and plants in the vast sea of ​​greenery with the film’s sobering opening shot: a burned patch of rainforest reduced to a soulless blackened plain, a landscape that evokes memories of Mordor. , the domain where the forces of evil reside in ‘The Lord of the Rings’. In fact, that is also the message that this film tries to convey in a not overly preachy way: we as humanity are actually not worth a blow to the nose if we watch patiently and lethargically as greed, short-termism and indifference areas such as the Peruvian Amazon with the level the ground.