Jungle (4½ Stars)

This is the 20th film in the Stuttgart Fantasy Film Festival.

There were two films that I was especially anxious to see at this year's Fantasy Film Festival. The first was "IT", and the second is "Jungle".

This is a true story that takes place in Bolivia in 1981. On his trip through South America, young globetrotter Yossi (Daniel Radcliffe) meets the two like-minded adventurers, Kevin and Marcus. From strangers to friends, the three travel deep to the heart of the green continent. A chance meeting finally sends them on an expedition to still undiscovered parts of the sheer endless rainforest where things take a sudden dramatic turn for the worse. The ordeals of the hike take larger tolls on Marcus than expected, and the raft ride on the seemingly calm river becomes a hell-ride through whirls and rocks. However, for Yossi’s unpleasantly skin-crawling survival trip through the green hell, this is only the beginning.

Daniel Radcliffe puts on an amazing performance, worthy of winning his first Oscar. The only possible hindrance is that the film could be accused of copying "The Revenant", but I can guarantee you that Daniel Radcliffe is more convincing in the role of a stranded adventurer than Leonardo DiCaprio. Thomas Kretschmann is also outstanding as the tour guide.

Several people that I talked to called this the best film of the festival so far. Let's wait and see how the film is received when it goes on general release in the awards season at the end of the year.