Symbolism In The Emerald Forest

The Emerald Forest is directed by Charley Boorman whose film is about a family who travels to the jungles of Brazil where the father, Bill, who is an American engineer, is going to build a dam there. However, one day the family was walking in the jungles, their older son, Tommy, who was around seven years old, was kidnapped by Indians as he explored by himself and has been missing since then for a decade until his father found him again since he never gave up on his search. When Bill found him, his name was changed from Tommy to Tomme because he “became assimilated into a tribe known as the Invisible People, because they believe the paint with which they adorn their bodies renders them invisible to their enemies” (Assen 74). With this short synopsis, one can infer that this film has a lot of information that can be analyzed. Boorman uses symbolism throughout the film with different objects, animals and …show more content…
Boorman did a splendid job by using symbolism in his film in different parts of the movies. To start with, the main object that was used was water. Water was used for Tomme to do a rebirth from a young boy to a man. Water symbolizes life, rebirth, and pure happiness (What Water Symbolically Represents 1). At the end of the film, water was able to break the dam that was built. This can be analyzed that water has the power and strength of nature to the destruction of human creation. In other words, the creation of human can never compete and will be replaced by human nature. Boorman also used the symbolism of animals in his film. The spiritual animal of Tomme was an eagle and according to Presley Love, an “eagle totem is the symbol of freedom with powerful symbolic meaning of timing, victory and spiritual quest…helping you to discover your personal power and the route to the destiny of your choosing…” (1).