A Ton of Luck

Four soldiers deep in the jungle find a massive cache of millions of dollars. There is so much money, in fact, that they can't keep it hidden and can't even carry it off by themselves, with the rest of the battalion eventually catching wind of it and subsequently sharing it out among the soldiers.

The rest of the film is more or less the pedestrian types of problems you'd expect would arise in such a situation. There's some mutual distrust, there's one ethical soldier who wants to report it, there's the irresponsible overspending and flaunting of the cash.

Apparently it's based on a true story and the story really tells itself. The very situation is fascianting enough to elicit curiosity in the non-wealthy - what would you do if you suddenly got half a million dollars?

The endings are rather predictable and Marzquez-esque in tone, but lacking in the social commentary or timelessness of that author's short stories.

Good production values, a great song, excellent acting and casting. Definitely worth a watch.

Honourable Mentions: Mosquito Coast (1986). A crazy scientist escapes modern life in the jungle but can't quite make his dreams of development a reality. Most of this movie was also set deep in the Colombian jungle.