IMAX'S `AMAZON' CAPTURES THE FOREST.

Byline: Amy Dawes Daily News Film Critic

Once again, the large-screen IMAX film format provides a gateway to vivid exploration of the planet's most exotic and beautiful places.

This time it's the Amazon basin that's explored - 2.2 million square miles teeming with an astonishing diversity of life forms.

At the outset, the 70mm camera rushes over the craggy peaks of the Andes, settles briefly at Machu Picchu, the ancient village of the Incas, and then joins a fictional Indian called Julio as he travels down from the mountains to the great river basin in hopes of finding a plant remedy that will cure his ailing mother.

It's interesting to note the simplicity of these mountain Indians' lives - Julio sets out to make the long journey on foot, but eventually catches a ride on a train, and in the end, returns on a tiny propellered plane.

In a village along the great river, he crosses paths with an American biologist, Dr. Mark Plotkin (played by himself), who is studying the uses of native plants for healing processes.

Plotkin, a Louisiana native and Harvard graduate who has worked for more than a decade with the Indians of the Amazon, is an ``ethnobotanist'' - a scientist who combines the study of people and cultures and with plants and their uses (the kind of guy who inspires Hollywood movies like ``Medicine Man'').

A good portion of the movie focuses on him and his interaction with native peoples, including the Zoe tribe, who have the fascinating practice of wearing a thick cylinder of white poturu wood pushed through their lower lips.

The Zoe go completely naked, and it's interesting to note how adept the IMAX cameraman is, despite the huge-screen format, at not including any sights that would make this footage inappropriate for Western schoolchildren.

Archival footage is included of a renowned Brazilian scientist called Orlando Villas Boas, who first encountered native tribes deep in the Amazon, and who describes the dilemma of whether to leave them isolated or try to introduce them to Western tools and technologies.

A good part of the movie is devoted to stressing the potential bounties the Amazon basin could still bestow on the human race, as scientists refine the exotic plants into remedies for ills such as tumors and viruses.

There's no footage of bulldozing or clear-cutting, though the narrators (who include actress Linda Hunt) mention a few times that the rainforest is at risk.

Director Kieth Merrill, says Plotkin, ``decided to make a spiritual film, something to emphasize the great things there are to appreciate and preserve in the Amazon. We already know about the destruction.''

Among the most delightful footage are abundant shots of the incredibly diverse animals, birds and fish of the region, including jaguars, monkeys, toads, snakes, sloths, tapir, pink dolphins, electric eels, piranhas and the 300-pound pirarucu fish.

These are not just stock shots, but telling moments captured as the animals practice behaviors unique to their survival.

Merrill, whose previous works include ``Grand Canyon: The Hidden Secrets,'' ``Yellowstone'' and the Emmy-nominated miniseries ``Wild West,'' is one of the top directors working in the IMAX format, and ``Amazon,'' which is packed with information and striking images, delivers on all counts.

His co-writer is Loren McIntyre, a writer and producer for National Geogaphic and a renowned explorer and author on the region.

THE FACTS

The film: ``Amazon'' (not rated).

Behind the scenes: Directed by Kieth Merrill. Written by Merrill and Loren McIntyre. Narrated by Linda Hunt. Produced by Merrill and Jonathan Stern for Ogden Entertainment.

Running time: 38 minutes.

Playing: The California Museum of Science & Industry's IMAX theater in Exposition Park

Our rating: Four Stars.

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Photo

Photo: Mamani, a Bolivian Callawaya shaman, begins his quest for native plants with healing powers.