The explanation goes by rapidly and in a flurry of excited, multiple translation between the tribal language, Spanish and English.
She survived the crash, floated (face down) in the river and was rescued by the natives. We get to see all that in brief flashbacks.
The woman elder whose brought out to speak to him, before the big reveal, says Emily lived with them and helped them, presumably for the six months since the accident. Then there was some sort of second, unspecified accident involving the river (maybe the waterfall?), and her back was broken. The tribe could not save her, she died from her injuries, but they "saved her soul" -- her unborn daughter.
In voice over, as he's walking out of the hut cradling her, Joe says he doesn't pretend to understand how a premature infant could have survived in the jungle with no medical intervention, he's just grateful.
The timeline fits. In the very first scenes during credits, we see the moments leading up to the bus accident. She's not showing and we only learn about the pregnancy later on. Those six months -- the time that's elapsed between the opening sequence and the memorial service that starts the film -- are vital. There had been no communication from beyond the grave because she wasn't yet dead.
BTW, in the earliest hospital scene we see Joe in the ER order an emergency surgical delivery on a mortally injured crash victim who's six months pregnant. The staff is shocked, and he's reprimanded. But the baby lives.
I wonder if viewers who can read topographical maps had an easier time of it, knowing what those wavy crosses stood for. (I was afraid it was going to end up being a queasy affirmation of religious afterlife.)
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juneluv12-757-470243
14 years ago
Actually, she is visibly showing when she is arguing with Joe about going, and then in the picture with the toucan or bird, she's wearing overalls and looks pregnant. Most likely, she was 61/2 to 7 months pregnant.
She didn't live with them for a period of time. The bus accident happened...unlike the others, she was not killed instantly. She floated, unconscious, downstream to the village. She was probably dying from internal injuries. They either delivered the baby or did a C-section.
She had to be semi-far along b/c Joe receives the box that had the mobile she'd ordered for the crib. Normally, you don't buy those things until farther along in a pregnancy.
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thetaylors604
8 years ago
It's painfully obvious that you weren't paying attention when you saw the movie. Emily was there with a Red Cross team, providing medical care to all the natives. Then torrential rains and flooding forced the team's evacuation. The bus they were traveling in plunged into the river and all on board were drowned. Emily's back was broken and she drifted to shore, still alive but dying. The natives rescued her. They couldn't save her but they did save the baby. They took care of said baby until Joe showed up.
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