‘In the Heart of the Jungle’ tells the fascinating story of British explorer James Brooke (1803-1868), who founded his own kingdom of Sarawak on the Southeast Asian island of Borneo. The adventurer is played by Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, who most of you know thanks to his years of involvement in historical series hits such as ‘Vikings’ and ‘The Tudors’. The Irishman’s biggest cinema successes are “Kick It Like Beckham”, Woody Allen’s “Match Point”, “Alexander” and “Mission: Impossible III”.
“In the Heart of the Jungle” will be broadcast today, March 16, 2024 at 11:30 PM on Tele 5. Alternatively, the FSK-16 title is available as Blu-ray, DVD or paid video-on-demand:
In addition to Rhys-Meyers, there are some other popular names on the cast list – most notably Dominic Monaghan from the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and the hit series “Lost.” Also starring are Ralph Ineson of “Catch The Killer,” Atiqah Hasiholan (“The Night Comes For Us”) and Josie Ho (“LA Queens”).
“In the heart of the jungle” on Tele 5: that is the story
1838: Explorer James Brooke (Rhys-Meyers) travels to Borneo on behalf of Queen Victoria to explore the then almost impenetrable and therefore unmapped jungle. As soon as he arrived, the Englishman immediately fell for the beauty and mystical charm of the island. However, Brooke barely has time to enjoy either as a bloody civil war rages on the island.
Rebels repeatedly attack the Sultan’s (Bront Palarae) subjects, putting his daughter, the beautiful Princess Fatimah (Hasiholan), in grave danger. Brooke, who didn’t really come as a soldier, decides that he and his men under the command of Colonel Crookshank (Monaghan) must intervene. In this way, he not only changes the fate of the country, but also lays the foundation for his own future…
“Apocalypse Now” sends greetings
Rob Allyn, CEO of indie studio Margate House Films, first became aware of James Brooke’s extraordinary story in 2009. The Californian spent three years researching and then began writing his script. He completed it in 2013 and immediately wanted to make the film – at the time under the title “White Rajah” and with Sergey Bodrov (“Seventh Son”) as director. However, the venture initially failed because Allyn could not find enough donors.
Not wanting to give up his plans, he contacted James Brooke’s descendants in 2016 – with success. The still influential family not only invited parts of the film to be shot at original locations on their property, but also convinced the local government and the Malaysian Tourism Board to contribute millions of dollars to finance the project. In 2019, the cameras were finally rolling with Michael Haussman (“Blind Horizon”) in the director’s chair.
The film is certainly not a masterpiece: Allyn’s script strings together too many clichés, his dialogue is too stilted and the explanations in the voice-over are more annoying than useful. Moreover, the protagonist’s confrontation with the sultan, played by Malaysian star Bront Palarae (“Gundala”), is blatantly copied from “Apocalypse Now.” What makes ‘In the Heart of the Jungle’ worth seeing is the visual execution, the breathtakingly beautiful nature of Borneo and an interesting, because quite critical, look at British colonialism during the Victorian era.
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