O Quinto Macaco (1990) Poster

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4/10
A star for each monkey
Rodrigo_Amaro15 April 2020
The previous reviewers of this film had me going forward in watching the movie, so I'm giving them credit for it. But they're dead wrong on this one and we're different universes (some fake things as well). "The Fifth Monkey" can provide laughter due to its silliness as an adventure film that is more unintenionally hilarious than thrilling; campy moments and situations that are actually amusing (the court scene is one of those moments). I was truly hoping for one of those 'so bad it's actually good movies' but it wasn't all that. And for the life of me I didn't see any Ben Kingsley ninja as most people keep talking about; it was wooden action and I was sorry for him.

On the other hand, the joke was on me, maybe for taking it to seriously and for trusting the only featured reviews here, which are highly enthusiastic (if not, troll stories and wording). I doubt they're from Brazil, otherwise they'd look this with a different look (my case). It was filmed here, it's a Brazilian production along with Menahem Golan and truth be told that our money was wasted here - shame on you Fabio Barreto for wasting the talents of Vera Fischer, Milton Gonçalves and Paulo Villaça in this thing that seems to be downsizing us as people, only hihglighting our nature and animals. 1990 was the beginning of the end of Brazilian cinema due to lack of funds destined for culture and the little cinema made at the time was thanks to foreign influence, which made a brutal impact that only changed in 1995. This film is a mock on Brazilian and for the life of me I couldn't understand how one foreign stranger can make thousands of people from many different backgrounds speaking his language when there are times there are people speaking Portuguese, and Kingsley does it at times.

"The Fifth Monkey" has a mystique side to it that almost conquered thanks to a simple foundation: here's a man who hunts snakes and after being bitten by one and almost dying, he's saved by four monkeys who'll change his erratic way of life. The hunter, played by Sir Ben, has only one purpose here which is to marry a beautiful woman (Mika Lins) who seduces all men she can get but she'll only marry the one who fills her pots with money. The monkey business, well, might give him the chance to marry her but obstacles comes his way when the monkeys are too attached to him, causing problems and confusion whenever they go.

So, here's a movie that could be a serious work if its was an ecological adventure instead of a story about a selfish who barely changes in the course of the movie. He only gets benefits from his chimpanze mates, supernatural goods as well to the point of enchanting a rich woman for a brief moment. The movie drags on and on with minimal dialogue (a bunch of one-liners messed up, had it been a Schwarzenegger movie then I'd probably like more because at least his one-liners are always great), with ridiculous moments that it's hard to feel for the characters. As for the monkeys, those were first rate. True class act and the quintet (though only four appear on the screen for time to time since Kingsley IS the fifth ape of the title) was stupendous. The scene when the monkey #3 finds gold is pure magic.

In the words of Michael Kelso, 'those monkeys were really good actors'. Too bad the movie is a waste, not of their talents but from almost everyone involved with it. 4/10
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3/10
From the director of Too Much!
BandSAboutMovies11 September 2022
Warning: Spoilers
Based on Le Cinquieme Singe by Jacques Zibi, this film has Ben Kingsley playing Cunda, a man who catches snakes for scientists to earn money to catch the eye of a widow. He ends up being bitten by serpents, which leads to a dream about four chimpanzees and then they show up in his waking life, leading him on a series of misadventures. While he just wants to make money off the monkeys, he finds himself growing to love them.

The Fifth Monkey was directed and written by Éric Rochat, who yes, made multiple versions of The Story of O and produced Jodorowsky's Tusk, but he's the man who made Too Much, the story of a robot with a heart for Cannon.

According to The Unknown Movies - and a reader of that site named Maurice - "...after 20% of the movie was completed, Golan wanted to replace the director of photography and partly also Rochat, which really killed the movie. The Brazilian crew quit, Kingsley insisted that Rochat stayed, and a new contract was written which made Kingsley, Rochat and the new director of photography, all directors of the movie." This same writer also claims that Bubbles the chimp was in this.

Rochat himself emailed that site too, saying: "For your information, I was actually the producer of the film as well by contract, then the titles were made in LA by Menahem Golan. At the screening of the first copy, to my great surprise, Menahem had given himself the credit of producer. When I complained about it, he came up with the following line: "You have enough credit as it is, writer, director! You're not going to fight me over this, are you?" I was so exhausted by the whole fight during the shooting that I let it go. Now one word in favor of Menahem, he loves movies and gave a lot of people the opportunity to have a go at it."

I love that 21st Century keeps being an untapped mine filled with magical gold.
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10/10
Ben Kingsley as Jungle Ninja
reverendtom4 December 2006
This is one of the flat out funniest movies I've ever seen. 10 out of 10 for sure. Ben Kingsley stars as a man who has special powers over animals. He travels across the jungles with four monkeys, and the identity of the fifth monkey is debatable. My theory is that it is Kingsley, but friends of mine have argued that it is a mysterious monkey that Kingsley sees in a waterfall at one point. There is monkey-like love scene, a crazy old rich woman with a private zoo and her own crazy drunken veternarian, averted prison rape, Kingsley ninja action and more. Its been years since I've seen this film, but at my house in college we watched this film repeatedly. It never gets old. It has a nice laid back pace to it, and as I said before, it is hilarious. (Mostly unintentionally funny, I believe.) 10/10.
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10/10
Greatest movie since Rochele,Rochele
weenisascotIII28 December 2001
I believe that this movie should be watched by all people of every origin. The fifth monkey is a powerful and moving movie that has gone unnoticed and unrecognized for far too long. I think that The Fifth Monkey should be rereleased into theatres for all those people that missed it the first time. I give this movie 1,000,000 thumbs up!!!

Do not miss your chance to see this spectacular melodrama of life and love.
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