Poppy Mehendra
as
Zoraima
In my last blog entry I talked about Ratna Assan in Papillon, the 1973 movie starring Steve McQueen and Dustin Huffman. Considered one of McQueen's best films. Researching the film online (OK I confess, I was looking for more picture of Ratna Assan from the movie), I discovered that there was a remake in 2017. Well, technically not a remake, just another adaptation of the book. This one starred Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) and Rami Malek (Bohemian Rhapsody). Fine actors but I was more concerned with who played Zoraima.
So, I got the DVD from the library and watched it. You know how people say that they don't make movies like they used to. Well, they're talking about this one. Sure it looks like it has a bigger budget but it looks like a movie. I very glossy movie. The original one has a certain realistic grittiness to it. You get a real since that McQueen's Papillon is surviving on pure determination. Hunnam's Papillon is surviving because he is the star of the movie.
But lets get to the important part. Poppy Mehendra as Zoraima. Take a look at the picture at the top of this post. The length of time that you will look at that picture is the same length of time Mehendra is in the movie. In fact the picture is a screen capture of the scene. Towards the end of the movie Papillon wakes up and she is standing over him. For about 5, maybe 10 seconds, she just stands there. And that is it. That's all she does.
Now i'm not an expert in South American native wear but oddly Zoraima's costume, not that we see get to see much of it, does seem to be more accurate than in the original film.
Also, i'm not sure what the actress' correct name is. In the credits she is billed as Poppy Mehendra. IMDB lists her as Poppy Mahendra.
Images are screen caps from the DVD of Papillon (2017).
