The Burning Season is a 1994 American made-for-television biographical drama film directed by John Frankenheimer. The film chronicles environmental activist Chico Mendes' fight to protect the Amazon rainforest. This was Raul Julia's last film released during his lifetime, premiering on HBO on September 16, 1994, five weeks before his death. The film was based in part on the 1990 book of the same name by journalist Andrew Revkin.
Plot
Chico Mendes was a Brazilian rubber tapper, unionist and environmental activist who was murdered in 1988 by ranchers opposed to his activism. The movie opens in 1951 with a young Mendes witnessing his father's interaction with corrupt ranchers who are exploiting peasants for their work. The bulk of the film then takes place between 1983 and 1988, showing Mendes' activism to preserve the Amazon rainforest, to his murder in a drive-by shooting by a disgruntled rancher waiting in the shadows.
Cast
Raul Julia as Francisco "Chico" Mendes
Carmen Argenziano as Alfredo Sezero
Sônia Braga as Regina de Carvalho
Kamala Lopez as Ilzamar
Luis Guzmán as Estate Boss
Nigel Havers as Steven Kaye
Tomas Milian as Darli Alves
Esai Morales as Jair
Edward James Olmos as Wilson Pinheiro
Roger Cudney as Reporter
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
The Burning Season: The Murder of Chico Mendes and the Fight for the Amazon Rain Forest (1990 Mendes biography by Andrew Revkin)