In 1857, Sir Richard Burton and John Speke set out to find the source of the Nile. Discovering the source of the river would bring instant fame to its founder, the equivalent of Columbus' discovery of America. But every westerner's curiosity has been met with death and Bob Rafelson's Mountains of the Moon shows how the journey of these two men was not only a journey for a river's source but also a struggle for peace of mind.
Burton, a poet, had translated the Kama Sutra into English and penetrated Mecca in disguise. He spoke 23 languages and lived to observe intrinsic customs and ways of behaviour. At one point in his career he even preferred to stay in Cairo than to return to England to be knighted. His journey for the Nile's source was a spiritual one.
Speke, on the other hand, is the imperialist and his mission in life did not serve a higher purpose. An effete journalist named Larry (Richard E. Grant), whose relationship to Speke is assumed to be a romantic one, finances his trip. No white man has penetrated Africa as deeply as Livingston and Larry wants to ensure that his “friend” Speke is the one to claim the victory of finding the Nile's source.
Director Bob Rafelson, whose claim to fame is the impeccably nuanced Five Easy Pieces, manages to effectively play on the differences between Burton and Speke. In one scene, Burton rescues a slave (Delroy Lindo) who has a set of earrings made of human ears attached to his own lobes. Burton is entranced by Mabruki's tale of how the ears provide the slave with the ability to hear things others cannot. Speke is flippant, though; calling Mabruki's stories mere nonsense.
When they are nearing the Nile, Speke and Burton stay with a tribe of Africans. Speke is anxious to leave while Burton is eager to learn as much from these people's spirituality as possible. An odd couple, indeed.
The moments that work best in Mountains on the Moon are the ones that take place in Africa. Rafelson clearly loves the continent’s beauty and customs. Roger Deakins’ photography is astonishing, a precursor to his work on Martin Scorsese’s Kundun.
The scenes in London are a little too hurried and do not have the emotional or philosophical scope as the ones in Africa. Rafelson gives Burton too much of a Christ-like persona. Surely the man was flawed, but one wouldn't know it from watching this film. The performances are terrific all around. Iain Glen, notorious for his performance opposite Nicole Kidman in The Blue Room, gives his character warmth despite the fact that his character isn't drawn with as much compassion as he should have been. Fiona Shaw (The Butcher Boy) especially shines as Burton's wife. Her passion and quick wit are admirable and it is very easy to see why Burton is drawn to her innocence and virtue.
