Before Perlman was Hellboy, he was Amoukar, a pre-historic troglodyte whose small clan centers on maintaining the precious embers which are the source of their fire. If the fire ever goes out and no ember is kept burning, the only way to recover the precious commodity is through theft or dumb luck (but how likely is it going to be that a lightning strike will start a fire nearby that can replenish your necessary fuel?)
Quest For Fire is much more than just an extended Geico commercial. They share the common element of self-deprecating humor...but the similarity ends there. Quest For Fire actually delves into relationships with a love story and explores a wide range of human emotion from anger to betrayal, without the use of any true language. A language was developed for the film but is not sub-titled...allowing viewers to create their own interpretation from the scenes as they unfold. This ploy requires creative choreography and careful scripting in order to deliver the thematic elements to the audience. The concept works.
I have seen some interesting Discovery channel histories on Cro-Magnon and Neanderthals, which were two different species, with the Neanderthal pre-dating the Cro-Magnon. Both had elevated intellect with practices like burying their dead, but the Cro-Magnon were more evolved and understood art and other abstract concepts. The two may have co-existed for a period of time, competing for common resources. Quest For Fire pits two opposing groups against each other near the beginning of the film. I would suggest that Amoukar's tribe would be like the Cro-Magnon. They are viciously attacked by the savagely powerful clan that I perceived as Neanderthal. That may not have been the intent of this film, but that was my take. The attack scatters the tribe leaving the final embers in the hands of the village idiot. In celebrating the survival of fire, it ends up getting doused in a wetland.
A meeting is convened in which the elder (or the guy with the biggest stick) sends out three misfits on a journey to find fire (hence the title). They are challenged by another family within the clan who appear to be physically superior. They are rebuffed and later initiate a betrayal. The three embark on a long journey that takes them into dangerous territory. The trio hatch an ill conceived plot to steal fire from a cannibalistic tribe that are simply spooky. Their rituals include hanging other human-like creatures from trees and eating them one limb at a time. The plot ends up scattering the trio and ultimately lands them with a friendly tribe of painted people that have discovered the art of humor. The interactions are part love story, part learning new ideas. The trio depart with their precious embers to return to their own clan triumphant. Maybe.
Quest For Fire is based on a novel by J. H. Rosny Sr. It was adapted to the screen by Gerard Brach. Director Jean-Jacques Annaud did an exceptional job working from the screenplay (which included created languages...the tribes in the film had trouble communicating, too...they didn't speak the same language). Because so much of the film relies on imagery and performances, the acting and cinematography were essential to this film's success. Remembering that this film was created in 1981, Annaud did an exceptional job of bringing the story to life. It was almost like one of those documentaries shot down in the Amazon without the sub-titles. You get an idea about what is being said even though you don't know the language.
Perlman was great. He is joined by traveling companions Everett McGill and Nicholas Kadi. The trio are joined on their journey by the humor loving Ika (Rae Dawn Chong) who laughs like a hyena and has a sharp cunning intellect (but still managed to get captured by cannibals). There is plenty of sex in the film, and Chong's only attire was her alternating blue and black paint pattern. I guess you could say she "earned her stripes." The actors did a phenomenal job of performing gibberish lines with the non-verbal or tonal qualities that conveyed the underlying meaning in the script. The film succeeds on the intriguing performances.
As mentioned, there is plenty of sex in Quest For Fire. The bestial rough kind of sex where one clan member takes the other from behind while she is washing in the river. Even in pre-historic times it wasn't safe to drop the soap. The cave scene near the beginning looked as much orgy as it did communal living. Sex was infused into the script throughout the film and even included some humorous scenes that depicted cultural differences and exploited them for cheap humor (but it worked...I laughed). The language is obviously not an issue since there are no real words. Basically, the parental advisory would be sex, sex and more sex. I would recommend at least a mid-teen audience and older. The film also has some violence. The MPAA rated this film R. Run time is one hour, forty minutes.
Quest For Fire is a campy, fun, intelligent and creative look at pre-historic man. The brilliant story examines many human issues creating character depth without ever a spoken word. The special effects were typical 1981 with a low budget look and feel, but incredibly enjoyable. Quest For Fire captured my attention nearly forty years ago and remains an interesting diversion. Not cinema at its best, but high marks for originality and creativity. 7/10.
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