At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991)

Director:

Hector Babenco

Writers:

Hector Babenco (writer)
Jean-Claude Carrière (writer)

Release Date:

6 December 1991 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

An adventure beyond the limits of civilization, faith and passion.

Plot:

Martin and Hazel Quarrier are small-town fundamentalist missionaries sent to the jungles of South America to convert the Indians...

Plot Keywords:

Missionary | Tribe | Civilization | Ancient Religion | Bravery

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 win

Cast

Tom Berenger	...	Lewis Moon
John Lithgow	...	Leslie Huben
Daryl Hannah	...	Andy Huben
Aidan Quinn	...	Martin Quarrier
Tom Waits	...	Wolf
Kathy Bates	...	Hazel Quarrier
Stênio Garcia	...	Boronai
Nelson Xavier	...	Father Xantes
José Dumont	...	Commandante Guzman
Niilo Kivirinta	...	Billy Quarrier
S. Yriwana Karaja	...	Aeore
Jose Renato Lana	...	Uyuyu
Ruy Polanah	...	Kori
Carlos Xavante	...	Tukanu
Ione Machado	...	Pindi

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sensuality.

Runtime:

189 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:AL | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Belém, Pará, Brazil

Trivia:

To study for his role as a Christian missionary, Aidan Quinn went undercover with the Wycliffe Bible Translator group in Belem, Brazil, passing himself off as a born again Christian from the American Midwest.

Quotes:

Leslie Huben: Moon, you're under the influence of a dangerous drug, we need to know where you are.
Lewis Moon: I'm at play... in the fields of the Lord. At play... in the fields... of the Lord...

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 69th Annual Academy Awards (1997) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Just an Echo in the Valley

A challenging adaptation of a work by a great American writer

A late adaptation of author-naturalist Peter Mathiessen's 1965 novel about missionaries in South America (Aidan Quinn and John Lithgow), their wives (Kathy Bates and Darryl Hannah, respectively) and their chance encounter with an American Indian (Tom Berenger) who is trying to exorcise the ghosts of his life on the reservation by joining a stone age tribe that the missionaries are trying to convert. This is a remarkable cast for a movie with such intense, personal themes, and each of the actors delivers an excellent performance. Berenger was perhaps an odd choice to play an American Indian, but he does the best that he can with the role.

Mathiessen is one of the great writers of the late twentieth century--an American answer to Graham Greene or Joseph Conrad, perhaps--whose literary canvas is literally almost the entire world. This is an appropriately challenging and demanding interpretation of his always challenging and demanding (though under-appreciated) work.