![]() Stewart, particularly his sci-fi novel "Earth Abides". With Helen Mirren reading the narration in quite touching fashion, the film easily builds to the mood of a fable, resembling the mythic narratives of the late novelist George R. Common, everyday occurrences and behavior are contrasted with extreme traumas (e.g., the death of Flo, fights among the chimps and the effects of a polio epidemic which kills several chimps including a newborn infant as well as paralyzing Fifi''s brother Faben). She becomes attached to her infant brother Flint and eventually inherits the mothering role for her clan following the death of her mom, the matriarch Flo. The story that unfolds in mainly flashback is that of Fifi, a chimp observed from age five through 25. The feature telescopes the footage effectively into a disarmingly natural, almost cinema verite look at their lifestyle given a fictional, dramatic and anthropomorphic structure via effective narration written by Nancy LeBrun (NOTE: this is the 1988 version, featuring Helen Mirren as voice-over narrator). Filmmaker Hugo Van Lawick photographed the chimps over a 20-year period in their natural, protected locale in Tanzania. Aimed at theatrical release by National Geographic Society, feature should play well in specialized situations and have a long life in ancillary and educational markets. "People of the Forest" is a deceptively simple, quite moving documentary relating the everyday life of a group of chimpanzees living in Africa, their forest habitat threatened by man's encroachment. ![]() My review was written in May 1988 after watching the feature on National Geographic video cassette.
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