When River Phoenix was Indiana Jones: the portrait of a spellbinding actor

George Lucas and Steven Spielberg agreed on one word: if the first IndianaJones worked, they would commit to doing two more .

Creating the third was the most complex task for the filmmaking duo. They considered several ideas, until they came to the last one: Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) would relate to the meeting between a father and a son, with the search for the Grail in the background. “Three is a good number,” Lucas said meanwhile, pleased with the work undertaken with his partner.

Despite the fact that this was the supposed end of the saga – it would take nearly two decades for the fourth installment to come out – the filmmakers chose to start the film with a sequence set in the teenage years of Indy. . Indiana Jones when he was a boy scout .

Harrison Ford took on the search for a young actor as a personal task. A few years earlier, in 1986, he had shot The Mosquito Coast, the soundtrack directed by Peter Weir and written by Paul Schrader. The role not only gave him the opportunity to delve into darker territory than he was used to, but it also allowed him to meet the then up-and-coming River Phoenix.

Joaquin Phoenix’s brother was still a minor when he was chosen for this production. had shone Count on me (1986) and The Mosquito Coast it was only the third feature film of his career. Ford was impressed with his performance as his eldest son (and narrator) in the story. This made such an impression on him that he asked her to take on the task of bringing the younger version of Dr. Jones to life.

“He said to me, ‘The guy who looked the most like me when I was that age was this actor called River Phoenix…’ So I met River and thought he was great. Spielberg explained.

The segment begins in 1912 in Utah. The hair and uniform make Indy look like a boy, but he isn’t quite: he already has the drive and voracious appetite for adventure that would make him an unforgettable hero. This is what applies when he finds a group of thieves stealing from the local caves. Among the stolen items is the Coronado Cross, a historical piece that the protagonist believes should be kept in a museum and not on the black market.

He gives orders to a companion who momentarily joins him in the task and tries to evade the thugs, until he reaches a train carrying animals from a circus. The ten minute streak is fast and embodies the best spirit of the Spielberg and Lucas saga.

The duo are happy to include the origin story of the various items that would define the character. The whip and the scar on his chin are obtained in the face of a lion, while the hat is given to him by the leader of the thieves in the last seconds of the sequence, before the tape switches to the present, with Harrison Ford taking over command. . .

But, in addition, this passage of the plot serves to introduce the unique relationship between Jones and his father, played by Sean Connery. The most iconic James Bond doesn’t show his face, but his voice and the disdain with which he addresses his son already establishes the film’s dramatic focus.

During their two collaborative projects, Ford developed a close bond with River Phoenix. “He played my son once, and I came to love him like a son. and I was proud to see him grow into a man of such talent, integrity and compassion,” he told The New York Times in 1993.

He made these statements in dramatic situations: after learning of the death of Phoenix, at the age of 23 and due to an overdose of opioids. The movie world was shocked by her death, and although her appearance in history was punctual, she left a void at the heart of the adventure saga.