Secret of the Andes (1999)

Secret of the Andes (El secreto de los Andes) is a 1998 Argentine-American fantasy adventure film co-written and directed by Alejandro Azzano. It stars Roshan Seth as a powerful shaman, Camilla Belle as a nine-year old young girl with unusual gifts, David Keith as her archaeologist father, Nancy Allen as her mother and John Rhys-Davies as a Catholic priest.

Synopsis

When Diana's behavior causes her to be suspended from her school in New York City, her mother takes her to join her father, an archaeologist working in a village in the Andes. He is looking for the missing half of the golden disc of Huáscar, which legend says can grant eternal life. Diana meets the local shaman and discovers her own mystical powers.

Cast

Camilla Belle as Diana Willings

David Keith as Brooks Willings

Nancy Allen as Brenda Willings

Roshan Seth as Don Benito

John Rhys-Davies asFather Claver

Jerry Stiller as Dr. Goldfisch

José Luis Alfonzo as Lázaro

Gianni Lunadei

Rodrigo Barrena as Sancho Benito

Betiana Blum as Mama Lola

Leandro López as Lucho Benito

Critical response

The critical reception was mostly negative in the Argentine press. Adolfo C. Martínez wrote in La Nación, that the "script is so lacking in imagination that it does not withstand the slightest analysis. If those responsible thought that this story contained fascination, magic and suspense, they mistook their purposes. If they conceived it for children, they missed their target, since that audience will undoubtedly achieve an invitation to yawn. If it was thought for the elderly, no one in adulthood can bow to the absurdity that is told on the screen". Juan Villegas, from the El Amante del Cine magazine wrote that "there was an exciting story to be told, but they forgot to shoot it".

Accolades

Secret of the Andes won a silver Remi in the 2000 edition of the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival. The movie was also nominated to best film in the 1998 edition of the Mar del Plata International Film Festival.

References

External links

Secret of the Andes at IMDb

Secret of the Andes at Rotten Tomatoes