At Play in the Fields of the Lord
Seen it?1991 | 189 min | Drama, Romance
Weeknight Watchearly ratingWhy it’s a Weeknight Watch
With middling reviews (57% on Rotten Tomatoes) and a box office loss, it's a mixed bag. Fine if it's on; don't plan your night around it.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Right up the alley of readers who like to compare the book and the screen version and romantics. Adapted from a book, so readers can compare notes. Shelve it next to Killers of the Flower Moon or The Piano. Set in the 1960s, and it looks the part.
- The mood
- Warm and romantic.
- The pace
- Long and immersive, at 3 hr 9 min.
- What might put you off
- Rated R: meant for adults.
- It's long: 3 hr 9 min.
- Not the one if you want explosions or easy laughs.
Martin and Hazel Quarrier are small-town fundamentalist missionaries sent to the jungles of South America to convert the Indians. Their remote mission was previously run by the Catholics, before the natives murdered them all. They are sent by the pompous Leslie Huben, who runs the missionary effort in the area but who seems more concerned about competing with his Catholic 'rivals' than in the Indians themselves. Hazel is terrified of the Indians while Martin is fascinated. Soon American pilot Lewis Moon joins the Indian tribe but is attracted by Leslie's young wife, Andy. Can the interaction of these characters and cultures, and the advancing bulldozers of civilization, avoid disaster?
How it earned its rating
- CriticsBelow par
57% on Rotten Tomatoes
- AudiencesNot counted
Not measured yet: not enough ratings
- AwardsNot counted
No major awards or nominations
- Box office & staying powerBelow par
$1 million worldwide on a $36 million budget; still draws a steady audience long after release
- Buzz & cultural impactBelow par
About 30K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Héctor Babenco
- Tom BerengerLewis Moon
- John LithgowLeslie Huben
- Daryl HannahAndy Huben
- Aidan QuinnMartin Quarrier
- Tom WaitsWolf
- Kathy BatesHazel Quarrier
- Stênio GarciaBoronai
- Nelson XavierFather Xantes
- José DumontCommander Guzman
- Nilo KivirintaBilly Quarrier