IR Film Review: LOST IN THE JUNGLE [National Geographic/Hulu]
After the texture of "Endurance" and before that "Free Solo", the filmmakers behind these stories always say they search for unusual and stories that need to be told. Their latest "Lost In The Jungle" made alongside Juan Camilo Cruz tells the story of a group of siblings who after crashing in a plane are lost in the jungle for nearly 40 days. It is an interesting story but is almost an unusual subject for the pair. It makes sense in certain ways because it is a story of children and parents and how economic, social and simply society can exacerbate or even promote different problems. The kids in question lived in a rural village in Colombia. The father and mother had their problems which in that part of the world just became worse. They were also under the auspice of the local guerillas who had specific ways to govern the attitude or indiscretions of those who lived under their protections. This also integrates into the indigenous population and how they operate against/co-exist with the government there as well. Everyone has their point of view. Nonetheless, the father here of the kids gets into trouble and, as the flashbacks progress in certain ways, you get a sense of what happens. What is interesting is that the film recreates the search but makes it looks like it is actually happening with the real people.
In many ways it jarring versus something like "Endurance" which is more on the ground as it is happening. The recreation of the kids surviving in the jungle through animation in a way against live action is unusual because the kids themselves have a different perspective that needs to be revealed. Beyond this basis is the search time which balances again between recreations as well as real cell phone footage. The military and indigenous as portrayed do not see eye to eye either. What is interesting in the spiritual aspect of the indigenous is using the jungle to gauge how people are moving. The jungle itself is massive and yet it looks less overrun than one would think once the crew is inside. So taking that into mind there are a few disconnects but it also shows a universal story of overcoming adversity but also the fact that there is all different kinds of societties in the world that operate in very different ways than the western world. The progression of the build of this doc is also unusual since one gets the aspect that it began under one director and then the team was brought in to enhance and build it up. This is of course is made as a film so it also has a difference cadence than a series. It does its job but it feels a bit uneven in the process. B-
By Tim Wassberg
