The Naked Jungle (1954) Movie Script
That's a Siji bird.
Kind of rare.
You usually don't see them
this far down the river.
- Something must have scared it.
- Us, perhaps.
No, they are used to my boat.
Although the jungle doesn't often
see someone as pretty as you.
Are you flirting with me, captain?
Wouldn't dare, Mrs. Leiningen.
Very tough man, your husband.
I haven't had a chance
to ask you before,
but how well do you know
Mr. Leiningen?
I brought him upriver on this
same boat, about 15 years ago.
1886. July '86.
What kind of man is he?
I beg your pardon?
What is Mr. Leiningen like?
I thought you were his wife,
Mrs. Leiningen.
I am. But I've never seen him.
You've never seen your husband?
I know it's not polite to ask
questions, and I won't,
so I better get back to my work
before I can't stand it.
The captain's confused.
I've been asking questions
about my husband
and now it's your turn.
We're getting close
to your husband's land.
It begins just beyond that next bend.
I'd better start getting
my things together.
There's no hurry.
We won't reach his dock
until tomorrow.
- Is it that large?
- There's more to it than size.
This is another world,
Mrs. Leiningen.
Beyond that next bend, your husband
has more power than a king.
You know about me, don't you?
You haven't mentioned it
the whole trip,
but I think you know all about me.
Your name was Joanna Selby.
You're 25 years old.
You come from New Orleans.
You married Mr. Leiningen by proxy.
- You've never seen each other...
- Oh, you know a great deal.
When your part of the marriage
ceremony was performed,
Mr. Leiningen's brother
acted in his place.
When the marriage by proxy
was performed here,
I took your place.
I was very good.
I also performed the ceremony.
Well, you're almost one of the family.
Well, as commissioner
of this area for my government,
I have to know everything.
And besides,
I'm what you call nosy.
Will you be stopping off
at my husband's place?
No.
No, I have business
further upriver I cannot delay.
- A little while ago a bird flew over us.
- Yes, I saw it.
There have been
many such birds lately.
My government wants to know
all about these birds.
Sounds very mysterious.
I hope it remains so, only a mystery.
At any rate, after tomorrow,
I will not see you again for a while.
But I wish you much joy of
our marriage to Mr. Leiningen.
Thank you. But you still haven't
told me anything about him, you know.
In a few days,
on my way downriver,
I will stop and visit you.
By then you'll know more
about Leiningen than I do.
Mr. Leiningen will probably
be here soon.
- Well, goodbye.
- Goodbye.
Thank you.
Ma'am...
...you are very welcome here.
We are very glad you're come.
We hope to be very much
in love with you
and you be much in love with us.
We think you're very pretty.
My name is Incacha.
I'm Mr. Leiningen's
number one man.
Whatever you wish,
it is me you will ask...
Well, where is Mr. Leiningen?
Whatever you wish, it is me
you will ask. I will see it is done.
- But... But where is Mr. Leiningen?
- I am Incacha.
I'm Mr. Leiningen's
number one man.
And I'm Mr. Leiningen's
number one wife.
I expected him to meet me here.
- Where is he?
- Ma'am, he's...
He's coming from the jungle.
He's very dirty.
He does not wish to see you
like a dirty man.
Please.
You will come?
Thank you.
His name Mayi.
You want him?
- What about his family?
- Oh, they glad to lose boy.
Make plenty.
Mayi.
Up.
Boys, unload the things.
Give him a bath.
We give him a bath.
We give him two baths.
Your servants, madam.
Zala, your number one girl.
- Do you speak English, Zala?
- Yes, ma'am.
I hope you and I are going to be
very good friends, Zala.
Yes, ma'am.
What was Mr. Leiningen
doing in the jungle?
Yes, ma'am.
- Is that all the English you know?
- Yes, ma'am.
Beautiful! I like these clothes.
Take them away!
Let us go.
Let us go. Let us go!
- Mr. Leiningen?
- Yes, ma'am.
We will keep them here tonight.
No. They must go back to
the village house.
It is tribal law. It is tribal law!
Take them away.
- Leiningen, madam.
- I'll be right out.
You're not dressed, madam.
- I should come back another time.
- I'm not undressed.
And we are married.
- Madam...
- My name is Joanna.
I know that, madam.
Leave something on me.
I'm getting chilly.
You have a sense of humor.
I don't like humor in a woman.
- It's been my...
- I'm just trying to be friendly.
And you interrupt.
- You don't like being interrupted?
- No.
But never mind.
You'll get used to me.
I hope so.
Frankly, you're not what I expected.
Am I worse or better?
Just...more.
More than I expected.
I think if I study that a while,
it might turn out to be a compliment.
Are you making fun of me, madam?
I'm sorry.
I know this must be
as difficult for you as it is for me.
We haven't made
a very good start, have we?
No.
But then, I might not be
what you expected.
A little dirty. Uncouth, perhaps.
Not quite the gentleman
you might have pictured.
I hope we're not going to quarrel.
I am your wife.
And I intend to fulfill
all my marital obligations
as happily as I may.
I want to please you.
- May I speak very frankly, madam?
- Please do.
You know my situation here.
This plantation is a long way
from civilization.
I could not leave it to find a wife,
but I wanted a wife.
Your brother explained
all that to me.
You want children.
So do I.
You're very...
- Bold?
- Never mind.
What I want to say is this:
Our contract, marriage by proxy,
is not an uncommon way
to get a wife in the jungle.
Only you are uncommon.
How did my brother find you?
He advertised.
In the New Orleans papers.
You'll be flattered to know
there were nearly 50 applications.
- He picked you.
- Not exactly.
I didn't apply.
You see, I've known your brother
for many years.
He asked me to read the applications
and help him choose a wife for you.
I became interested,
finally decided I'd be much better
for you than anyone else.
Your brother didn't agree with me,
but I managed to convince him.
It wasn't easy.
Very stubborn man, your brother.
You might not believe that.
It runs in the family.
Really?
I know why my brother picked you.
But what made you decide
to marry a man you'd never met?
I think it was your letters
that decided me.
Your letters to your brother.
I could tell how lonely you were.
I knew you needed me.
I don't need anyone.
Not even for children?
I suppose I'm to consider myself
fortunate you came down here.
Perhaps not right now,
but when you know me better,
you will.
Perhaps when you know me better,
you won't care to stay.
If I had thought there'd be
any doubt about it,
I would never have left
New Orleans.
You're here and you're welcome.
We do things by schedule
in the tropics.
We eat early, we go to bed early.
Dinner's at 7.
What time is bedtime?
Whenever you wish, madam.
I wouldn't want to upset
your schedule.
Your coffee smells much stronger
than New Orleans coffee.
It is.
The dinner was wonderful.
Very good chicken.
It was lizard.
The climate's very pleasant here.
It's not nearly as hot
as I thought it would be.
This is winter.
That's right. We are pretty far south.
How far?
Does it matter?
Not really.
I was just trying
to make conversation.
Why?
I can't think of a single reason.
My brother wrote me
that you play the piano.
I'd like to hear you play.
We'll have our coffee
in the other room.
I'd like to hear it played
before the termites get at it.
I had it brought upriver 2,000 miles.
- For me?
- No.
For anyone who could play it.
I wanted someone who could.
Play.
What would you like to hear?
I know nothing about music.
What made you stop playing?
It's too sad. I'll play something else.
I'd like my coffee now.
Would you mind?
- One lump or two?
- Two.
Black.
Do you speak any languages?
Aimeriez-vous parler en franais?
Would you like to converse
in French?
I don't speak French.
I was merely trying to see if you were
everything my brother said you were.
Yes.
I am exactly as represented.
I speak several languages,
play the piano, converse intelligently
and have very nice teeth.
Would you care to count them?
That's what you do with horses
when you buy them, isn't it?
You count their teeth.
Fortunately, I have all mine.
- You also have a temper.
- Yes, I know.
You don't like a woman
with a temper, do you?
I don't mind.
I have a temper myself.
You surprise me.
You're very beautiful.
Intelligent, accomplished...
There must be something
wrong with you.
I'm not that lucky,
to get a perfect woman,
just like that, out of the grab bag.
There's something wrong
somewhere.
I thought you didn't like me.
I thought you were
disappointed in me.
And instead, you're afraid of me.
You think so?
You're looking for a fault in me,
anything so you can ignore me.
You know a lot
about men, don't you?
You wanted an ornament.
Something nice-looking
to go with the rest of the furniture.
Brought up the river
with great difficulty,
just keep it dusted and see
that the termites don't get at it.
That's the kind of a wife you wanted.
Instead, you got a woman.
And you're afraid of me.
I said, you know a lot about men.
More than you know about women.
Where did you learn?
From what man?
That's it, isn't it?
That's what's wrong.
You've been with another man.
I was married.
Didn't your brother tell you?
No.
He left that out.
Everything else about you...
...everything...
...all but that.
I made a point of letting
your brother know.
He should have told you.
Perhaps he knew me better
than I thought he did.
How long were you married?
Nearly a year.
He was killed.
- How?
- He drank.
He was very gay, very charming
and usually drunk.
One night he went out riding,
very gay, very charming
and very drunk.
The money you sent
to pay my debts paid his.
- So he was no good.
- He was the kindest man
- I've ever known.
- He was a weakling.
- You didn't like him.
- I loved him.
How many others have there been?
Madam...
...you've seen my house.
It took me seven years to build,
to make it what it is,
in the heart of the jungle.
They laughed at me
up and down the river,
but it's what I wanted.
I wanted it to be filled
with beautiful things.
I wanted a family I could be proud of
in this house that I'm proud of,
in the land that I took out of the river
and the jungle with my bare hands.
The only condition I ever made
about anything I brought up the river
was that it be new, worth the effort.
Madam, this piano you're sitting at
was never played by anyone
before it came here.
If you knew more about music,
you'd realize that a good piano
is better when it's played.
This is not a very good piano.
- I'm not finished with you, madam.
- Yes, you are.
Good night, Mr. Leiningen.
Attention!
Attention!
She sinned.
Now, begin.
Go back to the house, madam.
I heard the music.
If it's some kind of native ceremony,
I'd like to watch.
This is no place for you.
Will you do as I say?
I'd like to watch.
Then watch.
That's the boy
they brought in last night.
He's trying to kill him.
- Why don't you stop it?
- He stole the man's wife,
now he's being punished.
I can't stop it.
No one can.
He is dead!
He is dead!
It's over, madam.
I suggest you pay attention
to what I say in the future.
Have you no heart,
no feelings at all?
And you!
I thought you were decent
and gentle.
You're as bad as your master.
The dead man was his son.
Yes...
...you made another mistake.
Perhaps your worst mistake
was leaving New Orleans.
You'd better see exactly
what you're up against down here.
Come with me, madam.
Without these locks,
my whole plantation
would be 6 feet under the river,
where I got it from.
It took me five years
to get a foothold here.
I started with 20 acres
and four men.
I nearly forgot the English
language in that time.
I was 19 years old.
My irrigation moat.
Built by men who had never
seen one in their lives.
I had 100 men by that time.
I used to lose two or three a week.
Headhunters.
This is what we get.
Eight hundred Indians
working for me
on nearly 200,000 acres
of river bottom,
eaten by flies, worms, lice.
With a half a dozen diseases
men get in the jungle,
all for that.
So that your friends
can drink chocolate
with their breakfast in New Orleans.
Go ten miles in any direction
from here and it's civilized.
But go ten paces
beyond where I stopped
and you're in the bush,
the living jungle,
where no man has a name
and the only law is to stay alive,
even if you live like a beast.
In the jungle,
man's just another animal.
I don't believe that.
Kutina! Come here.
This is Kutina.
He's one of the first four men
who worked for me.
Kutina, this is Leiningen's woman.
I like you.
He says he likes you.
He's more civilized than the rest.
He's like Incacha.
He has Mayan blood.
They were one of the most intelligent
races in the history of the world.
They were mathematicians,
architects, builders.
But they stayed
in the jungle too long.
Kutina, show Leiningen
ma'am your treasure.
All right.
Very glad.
Kutina treasure.
- Go back to work.
- Yes.
After this, madam, stay in the house.
That's where civilization
ends down here.
Shut up.
Something wrong with that bird.
Hasn't said a word for three days...
...till now.
At that, he's said more
than you have.
Everything I say seems
to make things worse.
I'm trying not to irritate you.
I've noticed that.
I find it irritating.
I'm very tired.
Good night.
Madam.
That perfume you're wearing...
...is it one of those I had
brought up the river for you?
No, it's my own.
Why aren't you in bed?
- Make faster?
- No. Go to bed.
It wasn't locked. It never has been.
I didn't think it was necessary.
My perfume...
The perfume I wanted you to wear!
Isn't it good enough for you?
Have you even tried it?!
You're my wife!
Maybe you forgot that.
Leiningen's woman.
I'm sorry for you.
This won't happen again.
It doesn't matter.
That isn't what I meant.
I'm not interested
in your opinion of me.
I want you to leave.
I'll see that you get money,
enough to make it all right
that you came all this way,
but I want you to leave.
I'll send runners downriver,
the boat'll be back for you
in a few weeks.
- And that'll be the end of it...?
- Yes.
I made a mistake marrying someone
I'd never met,
but you made a mistake coming here.
No, I was looking for something.
And I was willing to risk anything
to find it:
The strength and purpose
that was missing in my first husband.
- He was a weakling.
- So are you!
Your weakness is your pride.
Yes, I'm proud.
Too proud to take
another man's leavings.
Maybe you don't realize what it meant
to me to have you come here.
I told you I was 19
when I came out here.
Before that, I had no time for women.
Afterwards...
In the jungle, they have a name
for the man
who goes into the native villages
at night.
No one calls me by that name.
You said I didn't know anything
about women.
You were right, madam.
I know nothing about women.
Nothing at all.
I thought about that
when I saw how you were.
I couldn't understand why it was so
important to you
that I'd been married before.
Then I realized.
That's why I'm sorry for you.
I'll have this fixed. Afterwards...
...till your boat comes, whether you
lock it or not doesn't matter to me.
- Christopher.
- Commissioner, how are you?
It is good to see you again.
It's always a pleasure
to have you with us.
But what brings Gruber here?
He complains you're stealing
his workers.
The only workers
I've ever known Gruber to lose
were the ones he worked to death.
Have him line up his men.
I'll show you which are mine.
Bring all the men
together here quickly.
Come here.
Line up outside. Let's go!
Well, point out the men
you say are yours.
These two are mine.
I see how you recognize them.
If I ever catch you
whipping your men, Gruber,
you'll leave South America
that same day.
I've got their contracts here.
You'll find their crosses and their
thumbprints alongside their names.
I have to ask you this:
Where did you get these two men?
Where I get all my men.
They came out of the jungle.
Make him show you their contracts.
- I make no contracts with my men.
- Then how do you keep them?
They just stay. Perhaps because
I have no bullwhip.
According to Gruber's book, they're
his men. I have to turn them over.
- First I have to hang them.
- Hang them? For what?
Murder. They killed one of my men.
He's trying to trick me.
Where's your evidence?
Incacha, bring Kutina here.
Here's what's left of it.
This head is several years old.
It's ridiculous.
If you insist, we'll take
the head downriver
and have the experts go over it.
No.
Mr. Leiningen is a man of honor.
If he says these men
are to be hanged...
...then let them hang.
Bring the rope. Do not delay.
Come quickly. Good.
Be brave.
Well, it looks like we're all ready
for the hanging.
Up!
No, stop! Let them down. Slack
that rope! Let them down, I say!
Let them down!
I thought you were bluffing.
I wouldn't have let it go this far.
If you're serious about hanging them,
they have the right to a trial.
If Leiningen doesn't hang these men,
I want them back!
The law is not clear in a situation
like this.
I'll have to look it up when I get back
to the home office.
Get along quickly, now. Upriver!
I couldn't let you hang them,
Christopher.
- I didn't think you could.
- I had to stop you.
I was counting on it.
Finish it.
I can't.
Then start again.
I'd rather not.
I'm sure the commissioner would be
disappointed not to hear more.
Perhaps Mrs. Leiningen is tired.
It takes time to get used to
our climates.
I'll be looking forward to a full recital
on my next visit.
I'm sorry, but I won't be here.
Madam had such a full life
in New Orleans,
she finds our country somewhat dull.
She's leaving.
I'm sorry. I thought
you would love our country.
Oh, I do. It's everything
I expected it to be. Beautiful.
Then why do you leave us?
Mr. Leiningen thinks
I don't belong here.
The commissioner is not interested
in our differences, madam.
I don't want the commissioner
to think I'm leaving
because I don't like his country.
Your reasons are unimportant
to the commissioner.
Forgive me, that is not correct.
I would be desolate to think
Mrs. Leiningen
was unhappy with my country.
I shall always remember it.
And your kindness.
Good night and goodbye.
Only good night, Mrs. Leiningen.
- May I say something?
- You may not.
Will you have a good crop this year?
- Do you really care?
- No!
But conversation is better
than quarreling.
Each year, my friend,
I have seen you
get a little more lonely
and a little harder.
You're turning to stone.
I expect a better-than-average crop,
thanks.
No. No more. I have to start
early tomorrow.
Where to?
The Rio Negro basin.
I was halfway there when I met
Gruber coming downstream.
He was foaming at the mouth,
so I thought I'd better
come back with him.
I can handle Gruber.
Don't worry about me.
I was worried about Gruber.
What's going on at the Rio Negro
that it needs you?
Well, we've had some strange reports
recently. Nothing definite.
- Trouble?
- I think so.
Your servants...?
They've gone to the village.
You can talk.
Siji birds have been seen
as far west as Ecuador.
Even the monkeys are moving
out of the Rio Negro.
Something is driving them out.
And I think it's something big.
What?
Marabunta.
- You really think it's that?
- I'm hoping not.
- It hasn't happened in years.
- I looked it up before I left.
Twenty-seven years ago
was the last time.
A hundred years would be too soon.
I have to go and see.
How were you planning to go?
Upstream to the mouth
of the Baramura,
then across to the big river.
I'll go with you.
We can take the woman
as far as the Baramura.
She can get the mail boat there.
You want her to go that badly?
If it's marabunta in the Rio Negro,
she'll be glad to go.
Perhaps it is best for her to leave.
I don't think I'm mistaken
about what is happening.
- You sound frightened.
- I am.
Not you, huh?
What would it take to frighten you,
Leiningen?
- I haven't seen it yet.
- And you've seen everything, eh?
Everything but marabunta, I think.
- Who is it?
- Leiningen. May I come in?
The door's open.
Please don't be disturbed.
I'm not, Mr. Leiningen.
My name is Christopher.
I haven't asked before, but I hope
you've been comfortable here.
These rooms...
These rooms used to be mine.
I thought you might like them.
I do.
Perhaps while you're here,
you'll open that door for me.
It seems to be stuck and you're
very good at opening doors.
It's rusted.
Things rust...
...very quickly here...
...or rot away.
The jungle's corrosive.
It swallows up everything.
Even men, sometimes.
You've been reading...Joanna?
I found it in your library. Poetry.
I don't read much myself.
I bought all those books by weight.
Eight hundred pounds of books
is what I ordered.
Whoever selected them for you
has very good taste.
It was you, wasn't it?
Why lie about it?
Are you afraid I might think
you weak for reading poetry?
Perhaps.
As Fontaine says somewhere
in there, "Each man is three men:
"What he thinks he is, what others
think he is and what he really is."
- And which Leiningen is this?
- The last.
The real Leiningen.
Uncertain...
...complex, a little pompous, even...
Even laughable, sometimes.
- I've never laughed at you.
- I know...
...and I've appreciated it,
in my fashion.
I've written a letter...
...to my brother in New Orleans.
When you get there, give it to him.
He'll make all the necessary
arrangements.
I'm leaving right away, apparently.
Tomorrow. The commissioner
and I are going upcountry.
You'll go with us and then across
to the big river.
You can catch a boat there
in two or three days,
instead of waiting until next month.
I...
I hadn't realized that you were
in such a hurry to see the last of me.
Oh, it's not that. The hurry, I mean.
It's not wanting to get rid of you,
it's just...
I don't like what's happening to me.
I think you're sorry about tonight.
I tried to embarrass you.
I'm not like that usually.
I don't like to hurt things.
I...
I was hurt...
...but I'm over it now.
But when you get back home,
you'll realize it was better
to end it before it began.
You'll be happier with your own kind.
Perhaps I will.
Someday you'll find
what you're looking for.
I hope you will too.
Yes.
Well...
I wanted to say these things.
We won't have time to talk
on the way.
Then this is goodbye.
I'm sorry it started the way it did.
I don't know what went wrong.
I guess I'd never be able
to get it out of my head
that you loved someone before me.
I don't know how to be second.
I can only be first.
That's very important, I know.
Christopher...
You don't dislike me anymore?
I never did.
- I'll be back in four or five days.
- Sooner would be better.
- There was drum talk last night.
- I heard it.
Something coming, drums say.
- Did they say what?
- No, just something coming.
Very big trouble, drums say.
- More better you come back quick.
- I'll be back as soon as I can.
Are you ready, madam?
There are 14 varieties of river bug
where we're going.
We're used to them,
but they'll find that dress
you're wearing very convenient.
I'll manage to survive somehow.
Let's go, men!
She's having a bad time.
- But not a single complaint.
- Stubborn.
Yes, a terrible fault. Fortunately,
we do not suffer from it.
- Madam, are you still up?
- Yes. What is it?
I went through your luggage
and found these things.
Wear them tomorrow.
This is for the bugs.
The natives make it. It doesn't smell
very good, but it works.
What do I do with it?
Just rub it in. The effects last
two or three days.
Would you mind?
Thank you.
Something woke me up.
We as well.
It took us a while
to realize what it was.
The silence.
I have never heard it before,
- this silence.
- There's one way of waking up
any life in there.
Quiet! Nobody speak!
Nothing there.
There's something there, all right.
But it's not afraid of guns.
What time is it?
Almost 4.
It's nearly light.
- In the morning, we'll find out.
- We're not waiting for morning.
Get ready to move out,
away from the river.
We'll go cross-country
to the Baramura.
Men, let's go to the
Baramura village. Hurry up!
Go on to the village.
Deserted.
Not a soul around.
This village has been here
for over 200 years.
How can it be?
No sign of a struggle of any kind.
They weren't forced out.
They ran.
There's a canoe coming!
There's no one inside!
There's a canoe coming!
Get back.
Madam.
It's Gruber.
Looks like they caught him
while he was drunk.
We're going upriver.
Get in the canoe.
Quickly!
I don't know much about you.
I'll have to take your word.
Do you have courage?
- Yes.
- I mean a lot of courage.
- I'm not afraid.
- She's not going with us.
We can't leave her here alone.
- They'll stay with her.
- For about five minutes,
till we disappear around
the first bend in the river.
We have to take her with us.
What about the boat
I'm supposed to meet?
There won't be any boat.
Not now.
Where we're going,
there won't be anything left alive.
Hurry up, men!
- Something strange!
- Quiet!
Is there any high ground near here?
Yes, that way.
We have to get up above
this green stuff.
Ashore.
Stay here. Understand?
What is it?
Marabunta.
Soldier ants.
Billions and billions of them
on the march.
For generations,
they stay in their anthills.
Then for no reason they start to move,
gathering up others as they go.
Until they become
a flood of destruction.
How do you stop them?
You don't.
You just get out of their way.
They're moving southeast.
Toward my place.
They'll be there in a week.
They must put out an
advance guard of some sort.
Look.
I'll be waiting for them.
Leiningen come!
Leiningen come!
Zala, madam come!
Men, get the carriage ready.
- Take care of the men in the boat.
- Yes.
Come, men, let's go.
Marabunta.
You'll want to keep going downriver.
I have to get to the telegraph.
I'll give you some fresh paddlers.
- What about you?
- I told you, I'm staying.
This isn't something you can fight.
You'll wind up like Gruber did.
If there's a way of stopping the ants,
I'll stop them.
If you don't care about yourself,
think of your people here.
I am thinking of them.
Fifteen years ago, they were savages.
I took them out of the jungle.
If I leave now, they'll go back
and that'll be the end of civilization
along the Rio Negro.
I'm staying and so are they.
If you can hold them.
And I don't think you can.
Marabunta!
Foreman, hold those men.
Yes. Stop! Do not move!
Come back here!
I'm running out of time.
If you don't mind, I'll make this fast.
Madam, I'm sorry
for everything that's happened.
If you're trying to say goodbye,
don't bother.
Why not?
- I'm staying here.
- No, you're not.
Get in that boat.
No.
Your Indians, you want
to keep them here.
You need them to help you fight
and they're starting to leave already.
If I leave and they see me go,
what about them?
Will any of them stay if I go?
You're quite a woman.
You're right.
What?
You've both gone mad.
Leiningen, you're up against a monster
20 miles long and 2 miles wide,
40 square miles of agonizing death.
You can't stop it.
I can stop something no bigger
than my thumb.
They're organized. They're a trained
army. They're not individuals.
They have generals and they think.
That's the worst part of these ants,
they actually think.
So do I.
And I think you'd better be leaving.
You saw what happened
to the jungle.
While you're smoking a cigar,
they can eat a full-grown bullock,
right down to the naked bone!
They'll pick this plantation clean
- and you with it.
- I'm staying,
if I can only hold enough ground
to stand on.
They won't give you that much.
Not an inch.
No one has ever stopped them
and a lot of men have tried.
Don't be a fool, Leiningen!
Get out!
Get out while you can!
While there's still time!
Leiningen, don't be a fool!
Don't be a fool, Leiningen!
You are not good man, Leiningen!
This plantation is no good, Leiningen!
Leiningen inyete apichune.
Leiningen ei inyete apichune.
Koko biefono agarrito waikimie...
- What is he saying?
- He say, Leiningen not afraid.
Leiningen's woman not afraid.
Mero-o-renyo hito,
monoki, marabunta bi.
Now the ants come.
Omei petine omei onepei!
Assikumo!
He say, if you want to go,
go, then.
Back to the jungle.
Live like your fathers,
hunt each other for heads
or stay here with Leiningen
and be brave,
like Leiningen's woman.
Will your men stay?
They'll stay tonight
because they're ashamed.
They'll stay tomorrow
because they have to.
I burned their boats.
I wish you hadn't done that.
So do I.
It's done. We're locked in here.
Now we fight.
Huri, go up the tree there.
Satoro, go to the dam.
Sororo, go there.
Quabasa, go high up in that tree.
Be sure and cut down
every branch hanging over the moat.
Do you think this moat will stop them?
Ants are strictly land creatures.
They can't swim. Right, Incacha?
Monkeys not swim also.
They cross rivers even so.
The intelligence of monkeys
is more than ants and less than man.
Is so. But when ants come,
monkeys run.
If they cross the moat,
we'll fire this brush to protect us.
Get everybody inside the moat.
Post lookouts in the trees.
Christopher?
Come in. You might as well see this.
Caught him this afternoon.
He's an advance scout of some kind.
Handsome devil, isn't he?
I've been studying him all evening.
The face of my enemy.
Who knows?
Perhaps he's been studying me.
Even alone they look frightening.
Well, where they go,
no life is left but their own.
That's what we're up against.
If I were a sensible man, Joanna,
what would I do?
Fight or run?
You have to fight.
A man like you doesn't run.
In any case,
you're not a sensible man.
You wouldn't have chosen a wife
by mail if you were.
I'm beginning to think the only
sensible thing I ever did
was send for you.
Why do you say that now?
Maybe because it's too late.
The ants are advancing through
the cocoa plantation!
The ants are advancing through
the cocoa plantation!
Men, what is the matter?
Marabunta!
Upriver at cocoa fields.
What is it, the ants?
They're on their way.
About ten miles from here.
Get my horse.
Bring me some fresh cigars.
They're headed this way, all right.
They travel about 6 miles a day.
They'll get here
early tomorrow morning.
Keep the men here.
Fire a shot if you need me.
I'll be at the dam.
I want you to stay
at that wheel night and day.
Sure, sure, till marabunta die.
Watch for them every minute.
They're quick.
An ordinary man wouldn't last long,
not enough meat.
You'd last about half an hour,
so keep your eyes open.
And listen for our signals,
we may want to flood them out.
Okima, from the cocoa field.
Marabunta catch him.
Signal the man at the dam
to let in more water.
Open all the gates, tell him.
As long as it's deep, we're safe.
Take the body back to the village.
You were right about that piano.
It's much better when it's played.
It needs tuning.
Tell me about women.
Where shall I begin?
Anywhere. I find
the subject interesting.
Well, there's very little to tell, really.
There are men and there are women.
They're like, oh, spoons.
If they are alike,
they go together quite well.
Tell me about spoons.
I do believe you're developing
a sense of humor.
More than that, Joanna.
Christopher.
Christopher, please...
...are you sure?
You're my wife, Joanna.
Marabunta! They're coming across
on leaves!
Come on!
Sound the alarm.
They're trying to cross.
Signal the dam, more water.
My eyes! My eyes!
We need more water.
Kill the ants!
- Something's gone wrong at the dam.
- Oh!
Fire the signal to retreat.
- Come on!
- Bring the oil!
Hurry up!
Christopher!
Christopher!
Mayi. Mayi, Mr. Leiningen.
Where is Mr. Leiningen?
Christopher.
Why didn't you awaken me?
There was no reason to.
But the house.
What have you done to
the house, the furniture?
Burned.
Gone. Nothing left.
Except our friend here.
I built this place out of my own will.
Like an Indian makes
a doll out of clay.
Now I've destroyed it the same way.
Took me 15 years
to build my paradise.
Three days to turn it into hell.
I wanted wife and children
to hold what I built.
Here's my heir.
- You've given up.
- No, I've been beaten.
There's a difference.
I've lost everything.
Everything but you...
...and in a little while,
maybe that too.
I'll never leave you now.
For whatever it's worth to you,
now that I have nothing else to give...
...I love you.
That's all I've ever wanted.
We'll start from here.
This is where we meet, Christopher.
And where we say goodbye too.
The ants are still out there...
...and we've nothing else to burn.
Do you know how to use this?
- Yes.
- Keep it with you, every minute.
What for?
For yourself,
in case the ants get through.
What about you?
What are you going to do?
Up there.
We're completely surrounded.
Here's our one chance to stay alive,
if I can blow it up.
It's a small dam with sluices.
They keep back the river
when the water level rises.
It's up now, 2 or 3 feet.
That's enough.
Enough for what?
To flood what's left of my plantation.
I'm giving back everything
I took from the river.
This oil will give me some protection.
- Open the gate.
- Open the gate!
Here comes the water!
Open the gate. Open the gate!
The water has gone.
They are opening the gates.
Christopher!
Christopher!
Christopher!
Kind of rare.
You usually don't see them
this far down the river.
- Something must have scared it.
- Us, perhaps.
No, they are used to my boat.
Although the jungle doesn't often
see someone as pretty as you.
Are you flirting with me, captain?
Wouldn't dare, Mrs. Leiningen.
Very tough man, your husband.
I haven't had a chance
to ask you before,
but how well do you know
Mr. Leiningen?
I brought him upriver on this
same boat, about 15 years ago.
1886. July '86.
What kind of man is he?
I beg your pardon?
What is Mr. Leiningen like?
I thought you were his wife,
Mrs. Leiningen.
I am. But I've never seen him.
You've never seen your husband?
I know it's not polite to ask
questions, and I won't,
so I better get back to my work
before I can't stand it.
The captain's confused.
I've been asking questions
about my husband
and now it's your turn.
We're getting close
to your husband's land.
It begins just beyond that next bend.
I'd better start getting
my things together.
There's no hurry.
We won't reach his dock
until tomorrow.
- Is it that large?
- There's more to it than size.
This is another world,
Mrs. Leiningen.
Beyond that next bend, your husband
has more power than a king.
You know about me, don't you?
You haven't mentioned it
the whole trip,
but I think you know all about me.
Your name was Joanna Selby.
You're 25 years old.
You come from New Orleans.
You married Mr. Leiningen by proxy.
- You've never seen each other...
- Oh, you know a great deal.
When your part of the marriage
ceremony was performed,
Mr. Leiningen's brother
acted in his place.
When the marriage by proxy
was performed here,
I took your place.
I was very good.
I also performed the ceremony.
Well, you're almost one of the family.
Well, as commissioner
of this area for my government,
I have to know everything.
And besides,
I'm what you call nosy.
Will you be stopping off
at my husband's place?
No.
No, I have business
further upriver I cannot delay.
- A little while ago a bird flew over us.
- Yes, I saw it.
There have been
many such birds lately.
My government wants to know
all about these birds.
Sounds very mysterious.
I hope it remains so, only a mystery.
At any rate, after tomorrow,
I will not see you again for a while.
But I wish you much joy of
our marriage to Mr. Leiningen.
Thank you. But you still haven't
told me anything about him, you know.
In a few days,
on my way downriver,
I will stop and visit you.
By then you'll know more
about Leiningen than I do.
Mr. Leiningen will probably
be here soon.
- Well, goodbye.
- Goodbye.
Thank you.
Ma'am...
...you are very welcome here.
We are very glad you're come.
We hope to be very much
in love with you
and you be much in love with us.
We think you're very pretty.
My name is Incacha.
I'm Mr. Leiningen's
number one man.
Whatever you wish,
it is me you will ask...
Well, where is Mr. Leiningen?
Whatever you wish, it is me
you will ask. I will see it is done.
- But... But where is Mr. Leiningen?
- I am Incacha.
I'm Mr. Leiningen's
number one man.
And I'm Mr. Leiningen's
number one wife.
I expected him to meet me here.
- Where is he?
- Ma'am, he's...
He's coming from the jungle.
He's very dirty.
He does not wish to see you
like a dirty man.
Please.
You will come?
Thank you.
His name Mayi.
You want him?
- What about his family?
- Oh, they glad to lose boy.
Make plenty.
Mayi.
Up.
Boys, unload the things.
Give him a bath.
We give him a bath.
We give him two baths.
Your servants, madam.
Zala, your number one girl.
- Do you speak English, Zala?
- Yes, ma'am.
I hope you and I are going to be
very good friends, Zala.
Yes, ma'am.
What was Mr. Leiningen
doing in the jungle?
Yes, ma'am.
- Is that all the English you know?
- Yes, ma'am.
Beautiful! I like these clothes.
Take them away!
Let us go.
Let us go. Let us go!
- Mr. Leiningen?
- Yes, ma'am.
We will keep them here tonight.
No. They must go back to
the village house.
It is tribal law. It is tribal law!
Take them away.
- Leiningen, madam.
- I'll be right out.
You're not dressed, madam.
- I should come back another time.
- I'm not undressed.
And we are married.
- Madam...
- My name is Joanna.
I know that, madam.
Leave something on me.
I'm getting chilly.
You have a sense of humor.
I don't like humor in a woman.
- It's been my...
- I'm just trying to be friendly.
And you interrupt.
- You don't like being interrupted?
- No.
But never mind.
You'll get used to me.
I hope so.
Frankly, you're not what I expected.
Am I worse or better?
Just...more.
More than I expected.
I think if I study that a while,
it might turn out to be a compliment.
Are you making fun of me, madam?
I'm sorry.
I know this must be
as difficult for you as it is for me.
We haven't made
a very good start, have we?
No.
But then, I might not be
what you expected.
A little dirty. Uncouth, perhaps.
Not quite the gentleman
you might have pictured.
I hope we're not going to quarrel.
I am your wife.
And I intend to fulfill
all my marital obligations
as happily as I may.
I want to please you.
- May I speak very frankly, madam?
- Please do.
You know my situation here.
This plantation is a long way
from civilization.
I could not leave it to find a wife,
but I wanted a wife.
Your brother explained
all that to me.
You want children.
So do I.
You're very...
- Bold?
- Never mind.
What I want to say is this:
Our contract, marriage by proxy,
is not an uncommon way
to get a wife in the jungle.
Only you are uncommon.
How did my brother find you?
He advertised.
In the New Orleans papers.
You'll be flattered to know
there were nearly 50 applications.
- He picked you.
- Not exactly.
I didn't apply.
You see, I've known your brother
for many years.
He asked me to read the applications
and help him choose a wife for you.
I became interested,
finally decided I'd be much better
for you than anyone else.
Your brother didn't agree with me,
but I managed to convince him.
It wasn't easy.
Very stubborn man, your brother.
You might not believe that.
It runs in the family.
Really?
I know why my brother picked you.
But what made you decide
to marry a man you'd never met?
I think it was your letters
that decided me.
Your letters to your brother.
I could tell how lonely you were.
I knew you needed me.
I don't need anyone.
Not even for children?
I suppose I'm to consider myself
fortunate you came down here.
Perhaps not right now,
but when you know me better,
you will.
Perhaps when you know me better,
you won't care to stay.
If I had thought there'd be
any doubt about it,
I would never have left
New Orleans.
You're here and you're welcome.
We do things by schedule
in the tropics.
We eat early, we go to bed early.
Dinner's at 7.
What time is bedtime?
Whenever you wish, madam.
I wouldn't want to upset
your schedule.
Your coffee smells much stronger
than New Orleans coffee.
It is.
The dinner was wonderful.
Very good chicken.
It was lizard.
The climate's very pleasant here.
It's not nearly as hot
as I thought it would be.
This is winter.
That's right. We are pretty far south.
How far?
Does it matter?
Not really.
I was just trying
to make conversation.
Why?
I can't think of a single reason.
My brother wrote me
that you play the piano.
I'd like to hear you play.
We'll have our coffee
in the other room.
I'd like to hear it played
before the termites get at it.
I had it brought upriver 2,000 miles.
- For me?
- No.
For anyone who could play it.
I wanted someone who could.
Play.
What would you like to hear?
I know nothing about music.
What made you stop playing?
It's too sad. I'll play something else.
I'd like my coffee now.
Would you mind?
- One lump or two?
- Two.
Black.
Do you speak any languages?
Aimeriez-vous parler en franais?
Would you like to converse
in French?
I don't speak French.
I was merely trying to see if you were
everything my brother said you were.
Yes.
I am exactly as represented.
I speak several languages,
play the piano, converse intelligently
and have very nice teeth.
Would you care to count them?
That's what you do with horses
when you buy them, isn't it?
You count their teeth.
Fortunately, I have all mine.
- You also have a temper.
- Yes, I know.
You don't like a woman
with a temper, do you?
I don't mind.
I have a temper myself.
You surprise me.
You're very beautiful.
Intelligent, accomplished...
There must be something
wrong with you.
I'm not that lucky,
to get a perfect woman,
just like that, out of the grab bag.
There's something wrong
somewhere.
I thought you didn't like me.
I thought you were
disappointed in me.
And instead, you're afraid of me.
You think so?
You're looking for a fault in me,
anything so you can ignore me.
You know a lot
about men, don't you?
You wanted an ornament.
Something nice-looking
to go with the rest of the furniture.
Brought up the river
with great difficulty,
just keep it dusted and see
that the termites don't get at it.
That's the kind of a wife you wanted.
Instead, you got a woman.
And you're afraid of me.
I said, you know a lot about men.
More than you know about women.
Where did you learn?
From what man?
That's it, isn't it?
That's what's wrong.
You've been with another man.
I was married.
Didn't your brother tell you?
No.
He left that out.
Everything else about you...
...everything...
...all but that.
I made a point of letting
your brother know.
He should have told you.
Perhaps he knew me better
than I thought he did.
How long were you married?
Nearly a year.
He was killed.
- How?
- He drank.
He was very gay, very charming
and usually drunk.
One night he went out riding,
very gay, very charming
and very drunk.
The money you sent
to pay my debts paid his.
- So he was no good.
- He was the kindest man
- I've ever known.
- He was a weakling.
- You didn't like him.
- I loved him.
How many others have there been?
Madam...
...you've seen my house.
It took me seven years to build,
to make it what it is,
in the heart of the jungle.
They laughed at me
up and down the river,
but it's what I wanted.
I wanted it to be filled
with beautiful things.
I wanted a family I could be proud of
in this house that I'm proud of,
in the land that I took out of the river
and the jungle with my bare hands.
The only condition I ever made
about anything I brought up the river
was that it be new, worth the effort.
Madam, this piano you're sitting at
was never played by anyone
before it came here.
If you knew more about music,
you'd realize that a good piano
is better when it's played.
This is not a very good piano.
- I'm not finished with you, madam.
- Yes, you are.
Good night, Mr. Leiningen.
Attention!
Attention!
She sinned.
Now, begin.
Go back to the house, madam.
I heard the music.
If it's some kind of native ceremony,
I'd like to watch.
This is no place for you.
Will you do as I say?
I'd like to watch.
Then watch.
That's the boy
they brought in last night.
He's trying to kill him.
- Why don't you stop it?
- He stole the man's wife,
now he's being punished.
I can't stop it.
No one can.
He is dead!
He is dead!
It's over, madam.
I suggest you pay attention
to what I say in the future.
Have you no heart,
no feelings at all?
And you!
I thought you were decent
and gentle.
You're as bad as your master.
The dead man was his son.
Yes...
...you made another mistake.
Perhaps your worst mistake
was leaving New Orleans.
You'd better see exactly
what you're up against down here.
Come with me, madam.
Without these locks,
my whole plantation
would be 6 feet under the river,
where I got it from.
It took me five years
to get a foothold here.
I started with 20 acres
and four men.
I nearly forgot the English
language in that time.
I was 19 years old.
My irrigation moat.
Built by men who had never
seen one in their lives.
I had 100 men by that time.
I used to lose two or three a week.
Headhunters.
This is what we get.
Eight hundred Indians
working for me
on nearly 200,000 acres
of river bottom,
eaten by flies, worms, lice.
With a half a dozen diseases
men get in the jungle,
all for that.
So that your friends
can drink chocolate
with their breakfast in New Orleans.
Go ten miles in any direction
from here and it's civilized.
But go ten paces
beyond where I stopped
and you're in the bush,
the living jungle,
where no man has a name
and the only law is to stay alive,
even if you live like a beast.
In the jungle,
man's just another animal.
I don't believe that.
Kutina! Come here.
This is Kutina.
He's one of the first four men
who worked for me.
Kutina, this is Leiningen's woman.
I like you.
He says he likes you.
He's more civilized than the rest.
He's like Incacha.
He has Mayan blood.
They were one of the most intelligent
races in the history of the world.
They were mathematicians,
architects, builders.
But they stayed
in the jungle too long.
Kutina, show Leiningen
ma'am your treasure.
All right.
Very glad.
Kutina treasure.
- Go back to work.
- Yes.
After this, madam, stay in the house.
That's where civilization
ends down here.
Shut up.
Something wrong with that bird.
Hasn't said a word for three days...
...till now.
At that, he's said more
than you have.
Everything I say seems
to make things worse.
I'm trying not to irritate you.
I've noticed that.
I find it irritating.
I'm very tired.
Good night.
Madam.
That perfume you're wearing...
...is it one of those I had
brought up the river for you?
No, it's my own.
Why aren't you in bed?
- Make faster?
- No. Go to bed.
It wasn't locked. It never has been.
I didn't think it was necessary.
My perfume...
The perfume I wanted you to wear!
Isn't it good enough for you?
Have you even tried it?!
You're my wife!
Maybe you forgot that.
Leiningen's woman.
I'm sorry for you.
This won't happen again.
It doesn't matter.
That isn't what I meant.
I'm not interested
in your opinion of me.
I want you to leave.
I'll see that you get money,
enough to make it all right
that you came all this way,
but I want you to leave.
I'll send runners downriver,
the boat'll be back for you
in a few weeks.
- And that'll be the end of it...?
- Yes.
I made a mistake marrying someone
I'd never met,
but you made a mistake coming here.
No, I was looking for something.
And I was willing to risk anything
to find it:
The strength and purpose
that was missing in my first husband.
- He was a weakling.
- So are you!
Your weakness is your pride.
Yes, I'm proud.
Too proud to take
another man's leavings.
Maybe you don't realize what it meant
to me to have you come here.
I told you I was 19
when I came out here.
Before that, I had no time for women.
Afterwards...
In the jungle, they have a name
for the man
who goes into the native villages
at night.
No one calls me by that name.
You said I didn't know anything
about women.
You were right, madam.
I know nothing about women.
Nothing at all.
I thought about that
when I saw how you were.
I couldn't understand why it was so
important to you
that I'd been married before.
Then I realized.
That's why I'm sorry for you.
I'll have this fixed. Afterwards...
...till your boat comes, whether you
lock it or not doesn't matter to me.
- Christopher.
- Commissioner, how are you?
It is good to see you again.
It's always a pleasure
to have you with us.
But what brings Gruber here?
He complains you're stealing
his workers.
The only workers
I've ever known Gruber to lose
were the ones he worked to death.
Have him line up his men.
I'll show you which are mine.
Bring all the men
together here quickly.
Come here.
Line up outside. Let's go!
Well, point out the men
you say are yours.
These two are mine.
I see how you recognize them.
If I ever catch you
whipping your men, Gruber,
you'll leave South America
that same day.
I've got their contracts here.
You'll find their crosses and their
thumbprints alongside their names.
I have to ask you this:
Where did you get these two men?
Where I get all my men.
They came out of the jungle.
Make him show you their contracts.
- I make no contracts with my men.
- Then how do you keep them?
They just stay. Perhaps because
I have no bullwhip.
According to Gruber's book, they're
his men. I have to turn them over.
- First I have to hang them.
- Hang them? For what?
Murder. They killed one of my men.
He's trying to trick me.
Where's your evidence?
Incacha, bring Kutina here.
Here's what's left of it.
This head is several years old.
It's ridiculous.
If you insist, we'll take
the head downriver
and have the experts go over it.
No.
Mr. Leiningen is a man of honor.
If he says these men
are to be hanged...
...then let them hang.
Bring the rope. Do not delay.
Come quickly. Good.
Be brave.
Well, it looks like we're all ready
for the hanging.
Up!
No, stop! Let them down. Slack
that rope! Let them down, I say!
Let them down!
I thought you were bluffing.
I wouldn't have let it go this far.
If you're serious about hanging them,
they have the right to a trial.
If Leiningen doesn't hang these men,
I want them back!
The law is not clear in a situation
like this.
I'll have to look it up when I get back
to the home office.
Get along quickly, now. Upriver!
I couldn't let you hang them,
Christopher.
- I didn't think you could.
- I had to stop you.
I was counting on it.
Finish it.
I can't.
Then start again.
I'd rather not.
I'm sure the commissioner would be
disappointed not to hear more.
Perhaps Mrs. Leiningen is tired.
It takes time to get used to
our climates.
I'll be looking forward to a full recital
on my next visit.
I'm sorry, but I won't be here.
Madam had such a full life
in New Orleans,
she finds our country somewhat dull.
She's leaving.
I'm sorry. I thought
you would love our country.
Oh, I do. It's everything
I expected it to be. Beautiful.
Then why do you leave us?
Mr. Leiningen thinks
I don't belong here.
The commissioner is not interested
in our differences, madam.
I don't want the commissioner
to think I'm leaving
because I don't like his country.
Your reasons are unimportant
to the commissioner.
Forgive me, that is not correct.
I would be desolate to think
Mrs. Leiningen
was unhappy with my country.
I shall always remember it.
And your kindness.
Good night and goodbye.
Only good night, Mrs. Leiningen.
- May I say something?
- You may not.
Will you have a good crop this year?
- Do you really care?
- No!
But conversation is better
than quarreling.
Each year, my friend,
I have seen you
get a little more lonely
and a little harder.
You're turning to stone.
I expect a better-than-average crop,
thanks.
No. No more. I have to start
early tomorrow.
Where to?
The Rio Negro basin.
I was halfway there when I met
Gruber coming downstream.
He was foaming at the mouth,
so I thought I'd better
come back with him.
I can handle Gruber.
Don't worry about me.
I was worried about Gruber.
What's going on at the Rio Negro
that it needs you?
Well, we've had some strange reports
recently. Nothing definite.
- Trouble?
- I think so.
Your servants...?
They've gone to the village.
You can talk.
Siji birds have been seen
as far west as Ecuador.
Even the monkeys are moving
out of the Rio Negro.
Something is driving them out.
And I think it's something big.
What?
Marabunta.
- You really think it's that?
- I'm hoping not.
- It hasn't happened in years.
- I looked it up before I left.
Twenty-seven years ago
was the last time.
A hundred years would be too soon.
I have to go and see.
How were you planning to go?
Upstream to the mouth
of the Baramura,
then across to the big river.
I'll go with you.
We can take the woman
as far as the Baramura.
She can get the mail boat there.
You want her to go that badly?
If it's marabunta in the Rio Negro,
she'll be glad to go.
Perhaps it is best for her to leave.
I don't think I'm mistaken
about what is happening.
- You sound frightened.
- I am.
Not you, huh?
What would it take to frighten you,
Leiningen?
- I haven't seen it yet.
- And you've seen everything, eh?
Everything but marabunta, I think.
- Who is it?
- Leiningen. May I come in?
The door's open.
Please don't be disturbed.
I'm not, Mr. Leiningen.
My name is Christopher.
I haven't asked before, but I hope
you've been comfortable here.
These rooms...
These rooms used to be mine.
I thought you might like them.
I do.
Perhaps while you're here,
you'll open that door for me.
It seems to be stuck and you're
very good at opening doors.
It's rusted.
Things rust...
...very quickly here...
...or rot away.
The jungle's corrosive.
It swallows up everything.
Even men, sometimes.
You've been reading...Joanna?
I found it in your library. Poetry.
I don't read much myself.
I bought all those books by weight.
Eight hundred pounds of books
is what I ordered.
Whoever selected them for you
has very good taste.
It was you, wasn't it?
Why lie about it?
Are you afraid I might think
you weak for reading poetry?
Perhaps.
As Fontaine says somewhere
in there, "Each man is three men:
"What he thinks he is, what others
think he is and what he really is."
- And which Leiningen is this?
- The last.
The real Leiningen.
Uncertain...
...complex, a little pompous, even...
Even laughable, sometimes.
- I've never laughed at you.
- I know...
...and I've appreciated it,
in my fashion.
I've written a letter...
...to my brother in New Orleans.
When you get there, give it to him.
He'll make all the necessary
arrangements.
I'm leaving right away, apparently.
Tomorrow. The commissioner
and I are going upcountry.
You'll go with us and then across
to the big river.
You can catch a boat there
in two or three days,
instead of waiting until next month.
I...
I hadn't realized that you were
in such a hurry to see the last of me.
Oh, it's not that. The hurry, I mean.
It's not wanting to get rid of you,
it's just...
I don't like what's happening to me.
I think you're sorry about tonight.
I tried to embarrass you.
I'm not like that usually.
I don't like to hurt things.
I...
I was hurt...
...but I'm over it now.
But when you get back home,
you'll realize it was better
to end it before it began.
You'll be happier with your own kind.
Perhaps I will.
Someday you'll find
what you're looking for.
I hope you will too.
Yes.
Well...
I wanted to say these things.
We won't have time to talk
on the way.
Then this is goodbye.
I'm sorry it started the way it did.
I don't know what went wrong.
I guess I'd never be able
to get it out of my head
that you loved someone before me.
I don't know how to be second.
I can only be first.
That's very important, I know.
Christopher...
You don't dislike me anymore?
I never did.
- I'll be back in four or five days.
- Sooner would be better.
- There was drum talk last night.
- I heard it.
Something coming, drums say.
- Did they say what?
- No, just something coming.
Very big trouble, drums say.
- More better you come back quick.
- I'll be back as soon as I can.
Are you ready, madam?
There are 14 varieties of river bug
where we're going.
We're used to them,
but they'll find that dress
you're wearing very convenient.
I'll manage to survive somehow.
Let's go, men!
She's having a bad time.
- But not a single complaint.
- Stubborn.
Yes, a terrible fault. Fortunately,
we do not suffer from it.
- Madam, are you still up?
- Yes. What is it?
I went through your luggage
and found these things.
Wear them tomorrow.
This is for the bugs.
The natives make it. It doesn't smell
very good, but it works.
What do I do with it?
Just rub it in. The effects last
two or three days.
Would you mind?
Thank you.
Something woke me up.
We as well.
It took us a while
to realize what it was.
The silence.
I have never heard it before,
- this silence.
- There's one way of waking up
any life in there.
Quiet! Nobody speak!
Nothing there.
There's something there, all right.
But it's not afraid of guns.
What time is it?
Almost 4.
It's nearly light.
- In the morning, we'll find out.
- We're not waiting for morning.
Get ready to move out,
away from the river.
We'll go cross-country
to the Baramura.
Men, let's go to the
Baramura village. Hurry up!
Go on to the village.
Deserted.
Not a soul around.
This village has been here
for over 200 years.
How can it be?
No sign of a struggle of any kind.
They weren't forced out.
They ran.
There's a canoe coming!
There's no one inside!
There's a canoe coming!
Get back.
Madam.
It's Gruber.
Looks like they caught him
while he was drunk.
We're going upriver.
Get in the canoe.
Quickly!
I don't know much about you.
I'll have to take your word.
Do you have courage?
- Yes.
- I mean a lot of courage.
- I'm not afraid.
- She's not going with us.
We can't leave her here alone.
- They'll stay with her.
- For about five minutes,
till we disappear around
the first bend in the river.
We have to take her with us.
What about the boat
I'm supposed to meet?
There won't be any boat.
Not now.
Where we're going,
there won't be anything left alive.
Hurry up, men!
- Something strange!
- Quiet!
Is there any high ground near here?
Yes, that way.
We have to get up above
this green stuff.
Ashore.
Stay here. Understand?
What is it?
Marabunta.
Soldier ants.
Billions and billions of them
on the march.
For generations,
they stay in their anthills.
Then for no reason they start to move,
gathering up others as they go.
Until they become
a flood of destruction.
How do you stop them?
You don't.
You just get out of their way.
They're moving southeast.
Toward my place.
They'll be there in a week.
They must put out an
advance guard of some sort.
Look.
I'll be waiting for them.
Leiningen come!
Leiningen come!
Zala, madam come!
Men, get the carriage ready.
- Take care of the men in the boat.
- Yes.
Come, men, let's go.
Marabunta.
You'll want to keep going downriver.
I have to get to the telegraph.
I'll give you some fresh paddlers.
- What about you?
- I told you, I'm staying.
This isn't something you can fight.
You'll wind up like Gruber did.
If there's a way of stopping the ants,
I'll stop them.
If you don't care about yourself,
think of your people here.
I am thinking of them.
Fifteen years ago, they were savages.
I took them out of the jungle.
If I leave now, they'll go back
and that'll be the end of civilization
along the Rio Negro.
I'm staying and so are they.
If you can hold them.
And I don't think you can.
Marabunta!
Foreman, hold those men.
Yes. Stop! Do not move!
Come back here!
I'm running out of time.
If you don't mind, I'll make this fast.
Madam, I'm sorry
for everything that's happened.
If you're trying to say goodbye,
don't bother.
Why not?
- I'm staying here.
- No, you're not.
Get in that boat.
No.
Your Indians, you want
to keep them here.
You need them to help you fight
and they're starting to leave already.
If I leave and they see me go,
what about them?
Will any of them stay if I go?
You're quite a woman.
You're right.
What?
You've both gone mad.
Leiningen, you're up against a monster
20 miles long and 2 miles wide,
40 square miles of agonizing death.
You can't stop it.
I can stop something no bigger
than my thumb.
They're organized. They're a trained
army. They're not individuals.
They have generals and they think.
That's the worst part of these ants,
they actually think.
So do I.
And I think you'd better be leaving.
You saw what happened
to the jungle.
While you're smoking a cigar,
they can eat a full-grown bullock,
right down to the naked bone!
They'll pick this plantation clean
- and you with it.
- I'm staying,
if I can only hold enough ground
to stand on.
They won't give you that much.
Not an inch.
No one has ever stopped them
and a lot of men have tried.
Don't be a fool, Leiningen!
Get out!
Get out while you can!
While there's still time!
Leiningen, don't be a fool!
Don't be a fool, Leiningen!
You are not good man, Leiningen!
This plantation is no good, Leiningen!
Leiningen inyete apichune.
Leiningen ei inyete apichune.
Koko biefono agarrito waikimie...
- What is he saying?
- He say, Leiningen not afraid.
Leiningen's woman not afraid.
Mero-o-renyo hito,
monoki, marabunta bi.
Now the ants come.
Omei petine omei onepei!
Assikumo!
He say, if you want to go,
go, then.
Back to the jungle.
Live like your fathers,
hunt each other for heads
or stay here with Leiningen
and be brave,
like Leiningen's woman.
Will your men stay?
They'll stay tonight
because they're ashamed.
They'll stay tomorrow
because they have to.
I burned their boats.
I wish you hadn't done that.
So do I.
It's done. We're locked in here.
Now we fight.
Huri, go up the tree there.
Satoro, go to the dam.
Sororo, go there.
Quabasa, go high up in that tree.
Be sure and cut down
every branch hanging over the moat.
Do you think this moat will stop them?
Ants are strictly land creatures.
They can't swim. Right, Incacha?
Monkeys not swim also.
They cross rivers even so.
The intelligence of monkeys
is more than ants and less than man.
Is so. But when ants come,
monkeys run.
If they cross the moat,
we'll fire this brush to protect us.
Get everybody inside the moat.
Post lookouts in the trees.
Christopher?
Come in. You might as well see this.
Caught him this afternoon.
He's an advance scout of some kind.
Handsome devil, isn't he?
I've been studying him all evening.
The face of my enemy.
Who knows?
Perhaps he's been studying me.
Even alone they look frightening.
Well, where they go,
no life is left but their own.
That's what we're up against.
If I were a sensible man, Joanna,
what would I do?
Fight or run?
You have to fight.
A man like you doesn't run.
In any case,
you're not a sensible man.
You wouldn't have chosen a wife
by mail if you were.
I'm beginning to think the only
sensible thing I ever did
was send for you.
Why do you say that now?
Maybe because it's too late.
The ants are advancing through
the cocoa plantation!
The ants are advancing through
the cocoa plantation!
Men, what is the matter?
Marabunta!
Upriver at cocoa fields.
What is it, the ants?
They're on their way.
About ten miles from here.
Get my horse.
Bring me some fresh cigars.
They're headed this way, all right.
They travel about 6 miles a day.
They'll get here
early tomorrow morning.
Keep the men here.
Fire a shot if you need me.
I'll be at the dam.
I want you to stay
at that wheel night and day.
Sure, sure, till marabunta die.
Watch for them every minute.
They're quick.
An ordinary man wouldn't last long,
not enough meat.
You'd last about half an hour,
so keep your eyes open.
And listen for our signals,
we may want to flood them out.
Okima, from the cocoa field.
Marabunta catch him.
Signal the man at the dam
to let in more water.
Open all the gates, tell him.
As long as it's deep, we're safe.
Take the body back to the village.
You were right about that piano.
It's much better when it's played.
It needs tuning.
Tell me about women.
Where shall I begin?
Anywhere. I find
the subject interesting.
Well, there's very little to tell, really.
There are men and there are women.
They're like, oh, spoons.
If they are alike,
they go together quite well.
Tell me about spoons.
I do believe you're developing
a sense of humor.
More than that, Joanna.
Christopher.
Christopher, please...
...are you sure?
You're my wife, Joanna.
Marabunta! They're coming across
on leaves!
Come on!
Sound the alarm.
They're trying to cross.
Signal the dam, more water.
My eyes! My eyes!
We need more water.
Kill the ants!
- Something's gone wrong at the dam.
- Oh!
Fire the signal to retreat.
- Come on!
- Bring the oil!
Hurry up!
Christopher!
Christopher!
Mayi. Mayi, Mr. Leiningen.
Where is Mr. Leiningen?
Christopher.
Why didn't you awaken me?
There was no reason to.
But the house.
What have you done to
the house, the furniture?
Burned.
Gone. Nothing left.
Except our friend here.
I built this place out of my own will.
Like an Indian makes
a doll out of clay.
Now I've destroyed it the same way.
Took me 15 years
to build my paradise.
Three days to turn it into hell.
I wanted wife and children
to hold what I built.
Here's my heir.
- You've given up.
- No, I've been beaten.
There's a difference.
I've lost everything.
Everything but you...
...and in a little while,
maybe that too.
I'll never leave you now.
For whatever it's worth to you,
now that I have nothing else to give...
...I love you.
That's all I've ever wanted.
We'll start from here.
This is where we meet, Christopher.
And where we say goodbye too.
The ants are still out there...
...and we've nothing else to burn.
Do you know how to use this?
- Yes.
- Keep it with you, every minute.
What for?
For yourself,
in case the ants get through.
What about you?
What are you going to do?
Up there.
We're completely surrounded.
Here's our one chance to stay alive,
if I can blow it up.
It's a small dam with sluices.
They keep back the river
when the water level rises.
It's up now, 2 or 3 feet.
That's enough.
Enough for what?
To flood what's left of my plantation.
I'm giving back everything
I took from the river.
This oil will give me some protection.
- Open the gate.
- Open the gate!
Here comes the water!
Open the gate. Open the gate!
The water has gone.
They are opening the gates.
Christopher!
Christopher!
Christopher!