Quest for Fire
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| Author | J.-H. Rosny |
|---|---|
| Original title | La Guerre du feu |
| Translator | H Talbott |
| Country | France |
| Language | French |
| Genre(s) | Historical, Adventure novel |
| Publisher | Penguin (UK) & Ballantine (USA) |
| Released | (Eng trans. January 1982) |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-14-006434-6 (UK Eng. trans.) & ISBN 0-345-30067-X (US Eng. trans.) |
| Quest For Fire | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Directed by | Jean-Jacques Annaud |
| Produced by | Jacques Dorfmann John Kemeny Véra Belmont Denis Héroux |
| Written by | Gérard Brach |
| Starring | Everett McGill Rae Dawn Chong Ron Perlman Nameer El-Kadi |
| Music by | Philippe Sarde |
| Cinematography | Claude Agostini |
| Editing by | Yves Langlois |
| Distributed by | 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment |
| Release date(s) | VHS February 12, 1982 DVD March 4, 2003 |
| Running time | 100 min. |
| Language | None |
| Budget | $12,500,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
Quest for Fire (French: La Guerre du feu) is a 1911 French novel by J.-H. Rosny aîné (1856–1940).[1] It was first published in English in 1967. It was made into a feature film of the same name in 1981, directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud and adapted by Gérard Brach. The film stars Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Nameer El-Kadi and Rae Dawn Chong. It won the Academy Award for Makeup.
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[edit] Plot introduction
The story takes place 80,000 years ago, likely in Europe during the last major Ice Age. However, in the commentary accompanying the DVD release, the director Annaud stated a much earlier date would actually have been more reasonable if he had made the film recently with modern knowledge of the subject matter. It focuses on a group of Paleolithic humans who travel their dangerous world in search of a flame to rekindle their lost fire. In the era of Quest for Fire, not all people know how to produce it at will. This film demonstrates the difficulty of keeping a fire going under the harsh conditions of the primordial past.
The anthropology in the film is muddled; four separate groups are represented: the Ulam, Kzamm, Wagabus and Ivaka. The Wagabus and Kzamm are the most primitive tribes, representing Homo neanderthalensis. The Ulam and Ivaka are more or less modern Homo sapiens.
It should be noted that the Wagabu tribe is depicted as distinctly morphologically different and less advanced than the Kzamm and may be interpreted as Homo heidelbergensis. At the time of the film heidelbergensis was simply considered an archaic version of the Neanderthal rather than a separate species. The dating techniques now used to firmly place the two different species in different stages of the Pleistocene epoch did not exist at the time of the film. This is why in the documentary of the film both the Wagabu and Kazamm tribe were referred to as Neanderthals even though the former lacked the language, morphology, and advancements of the latter.
The invented language spoken by the prehistoric humans was created by Anthony Burgess. The gestural and body language was overseen by Desmond Morris, author of The Naked Ape. The story was difficult to tell without any dialog in a recognizable language, but the cave people's language (a combination of signs and speech) worked well; along with the natural visual tapestry, the language was one of the most successful attractions of the film.
[edit] Plot summary
In the beginning of the film, members of the Wagabu tribe invade the Ulam tribe's territory, and a battle breaks out. The Wagabus are depicted as animal-like savages, covered in hair, who show no sign of mastering advanced tools or fire, and demonstrate scant evidence of language. Despite this, the Wagabus manage a victory over the Ulams, using superior numbers, brute force, and cunning strategic skills. Some of the Ulams escape, leaving casualties on both sides. The Ulams' remaining fire tender (the rest was stolen by the Wagabus) escapes with the tribe's fire, but then accidentally extinguishes it, just when a member finds the remnants of the tribe. Without fire, they are doomed to freezing and starvation. So the Ulams, not wishing to turn to cannibalism, decide to send three men, Naoh (Everett McGill), Amoukar (Ron Perlman) and Gaw (Nameer El-Kadi), out on a dangerous quest for fire. During their journey, they encounter several different kinds of wild beasts and other primitive species of human beings.
Eventually, the Ulam scouting trio enters territory of the Kzamm tribe, who (in some cases) resort to capturing members of the Ivaka tribe as cannibalistic victims. Despite the Kzamm's brutish culture, low social status, and inhuman practices, they are masters at the art of producing fire. Naoh manages to steal some fire from the Kzamms, but he is injured in a fight with two of them. He rejoins Gaw and Amoukar. A young woman named Ika (Rae Dawn Chong), an Ivaka prisoner who escapes with Naoh, joins them seeking protection.
One day, Ika recognizes that she is near her home. She tries to persuade the Ulam trio to go with her, but either lack of a common language or a sense of purpose keeps them on their way back to the Ulam. When Ika leaves them the next morning, Naoh is upset and at first continues on without her, but finds that he can not stop thinking about her. He turns around, followed by the reluctant Gaw and Amoukar. Naoh leaves the others behind to scout a village and is ambushed by the Ivakas.
At first, he is teased and subjected to several forms of humiliation, but eventually the Ivaka accept him and show him their ways. The Ivaka tribe is the most advanced tribe depicted. They have atlatls, arts (body painting, huts, ornaments, primitive pottery), and most importantly, fire. When Naoh is taught how to make fire, he is overwhelmed and his life is changed forever.
Growing impatient, Gaw and Amoukar go to find Naoh and are also captured. During their ordeal, they are disturbed to realize that one of the teasers is Naoh, initially unrecognizeable as he now wears the full body-paint of the Ivaka. Gaw and Amoukar escape during the night, 'persuading' Naoh to come along by knocking him unconscious. Ika, realizing she loves Naoh, follows the trio and helps them escape.
On their way back to the Ulam tribe, the foursome must deal with a bear and a group of renegades who were formerly part of the Ulam tribe. Gaw is severely wounded in a fight with the bear, but he manages to escape. The other three members of the group find Gaw, and Amoukar carries him over his shoulder. Then, when engaging the Ulam renegades in battle, the group uses several spear throwers stolen from the Ivaka, and use them to dispatch their enemies, demonstrating the advantages of embracing new technologies.
Upon rejoining the Ulam tribe, the fire tender, having been given the flame, falls in the water, extinguishing the fire. Naoh tries to create fire by using some sticks, dung and dry grasses. After several failed attempts, Ika takes over, carefully rubbing the dry sticks together. Once the spark is lit, the tribe is overjoyed, silent and overwhelmed. In the end, Ika and Naoh discover that Ika is pregnant with their child.
[edit] Notes
- ^ According to the dust jacket of a 1967 edition[1] it was the older brother of the Rosny brothers who was author.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
[edit] Reference
- ^ According to the dust jacket of a 1967 edition[2] it was the older brother of the Rosny brothers who was author.
