It's the early 20th Century down in the jungles of Columbia, and a young man (Anthony Perkins) escapes from a revolution. He ends up being befriended by a group of natives, even though only one of them (educated by missionaries) speaks English. They believe Perkins has magical powers (because he owns a cigarette lighter) and order him to kill a mysterious girl in the near-by forest. This girl (Audrey Hepburn) is a waif-like creature with mystical qualities that they believe is a witch. Raised by her grandfather (Nehemian Persoff), she falls in love with Perkins and longs to leave the forest to return to her mother's hometown.
There's not really a lot of story except the apparent conflict between Hepburn, Persoff and the natives outside the village. The majority of the film is the romance between Perkins and Hepburn, a bit of philosophizing and the truth about Hepburn's identity. But the last third explodes into questions about everything you've been wondering about up until that point and the journey outside the forest where all will be revealed. Most people will be more enthralled by the colorful painting like photography, shots of some rare creatures (most interestingly an aardvark) and the National Geographic like nature shots. Who Hepburn is will be the film's biggest mystery in this film similar in theme to "Lost Horizon" and "The Portrait of Jennie".
There's not really a lot of story except the apparent conflict between Hepburn, Persoff and the natives outside the village. The majority of the film is the romance between Perkins and Hepburn, a bit of philosophizing and the truth about Hepburn's identity. But the last third explodes into questions about everything you've been wondering about up until that point and the journey outside the forest where all will be revealed. Most people will be more enthralled by the colorful painting like photography, shots of some rare creatures (most interestingly an aardvark) and the National Geographic like nature shots. Who Hepburn is will be the film's biggest mystery in this film similar in theme to "Lost Horizon" and "The Portrait of Jennie".