Treasure Island (1986 film)

Treasure Island

Company type	Film
Industry	Film industry
Founded	1986
Founder	Raúl Ruiz
Products	Film adaptation of Treasure Island novel

Treasure Island () is a 1986 fabulation and metafiction film directed by Chilean auteur Raúl Ruiz. It was showcased in the Un Certain Regard category at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. This intricate reinterpretation of Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 classic coming-of-age adventure novel was produced through a collaboration of French, British, and American companies. The cast features Melvil Poupaud alongside seasoned performers such as Martin Landau, Anna Karina, and Jean-Pierre Léaud.

Ruiz’s version embodies his dreamlike cinematic approach, reimagining Stevenson's story as an allegorical treasure map, highlighting his fascination with cartography.

Plot

A dilapidated hotel is run by an alcoholic man and his wife, who rarely receive visitors. A man known as "Captain," familiar to the couple, arrives unexpectedly. Their son Jonathan encounters a peculiar blind man searching for the Captain.

To conceal his presence, the Captain administers drugs to Jonathan. While under the influence, Jonathan witnesses disputes involving both the Captain and his father. Upon regaining consciousness, he retreats to a cave and observes the blind man dancing nearby. At the hotel, a visitor named Midas appears unusually knowledgeable about Jonathan. The blind man attempts to capture Jonathan.

Jonathan’s mother and the Captain are revealed as lovers who deride Jonathan’s father. Jonathan departs and encounters Silver, who offers him refuge and possesses extensive knowledge about him. That night, Jonathan reads Treasure Island, which contains Silver’s secret collection of books.

At his father’s funeral, Jonathan faints while guests—including a doctor, a millionaire, the Captain, and Aunt Helen—read from Treasure Island. The Captain descends into madness and secludes himself with Jonathan. He presents annotated editions of the book linking Silver’s fictional character to the real Silver Jonathan met. Before dying, he claims paternity over Jonathan and urges him to study all "treasure islands," suggesting their significance to Western destiny.

Jonathan prepares for an expedition with a new French Captain and companions including Silver and the doctor. Two opposing groups emerge: one led by Silver and another by the French Captain. Silver attempts to persuade Jonathan to join him but is refused. The Captain deserts the ship along with some crew members.

They arrive at another vessel where Silver holds hostages including Helen. They locate Treasure Island; among Silver’s men is an individual claiming to be Jonathan’s father. Jonathan deceives this man to facilitate their escape.

On Skeleton Beach, they devise a strategy using blank ammunition for an attack. Jonathan takes command of the ship; Israel Hands loses his hands during an attempted coup.

Captured by Silver, Jonathan meets a specialist in limited game theory, who explains that Silver devised a game mirroring global power struggles governed by sacred regulations.

Helen shoots this expert; Silver grieves him as his finest "Jim Hawkins," superior even to Jonathan. Helen then shoots Silver.

Ben Gunn reveals that the game has failed and intends to restart it. Jonathan realizes all players are recurring participants. He consents to continue playing as Jim Hawkins but is ultimately killed by Ben Gunn, who wishes to remain the sole Jim Hawkins player.

Cast

• Melvil Poupaud portraying Jim Hawkins / Jonathan
• Martin Landau as the Elder Captain
• Vic Tayback in the role of Long John Silver
• Lou Castel as Doctor / Father figure
• Jeffrey Kime playing Timothy (The Squire)
• Anna Karina cast as Mother
• Sheila in the role of Aunt
• Jean-François Stévenin as Israel Hands (nicknamed The Rat)
• Charles Schmidt as the Blind Man
• Jean-Pierre Léaud taking on the character Midas
• Yves Afonso as the French Captain
• Pedro Armendáriz Jr. portraying Mendoza

Reception

Presented at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival, the film did not receive any awards. While it found a stronger audience across Europe, it did not meet the expectations held by its American financiers.

Themes

Raúl Ruiz is recognized for intricate storytelling that often challenges conventional narrative forms. However, unlike his typical style, this adaptation of Treasure Island remains faithful to the original novel’s plot and characters, which Ruiz regarded as more compelling than his own usual source material. He conceptualized life as a collection of intersecting stories, where individuals shift between roles such as protagonist or supporting character, mirroring predetermined social roles.

This idea is underscored near the conclusion when Jonathan/Jim is questioned about which character he will embody next, foreshadowing the emergence of role-playing games. The film conveys that existence itself functions like a game with fluid identities.

Another prominent motif is cartography, integral both to this film and Ruiz’s wider body of work. The story treats the book as a literal map leading to treasure, reflecting Ruiz’s experience of exile from Chile and his inventive narrative techniques. The film highlights how even well-known tales can be reinterpreted through various perspectives.

External links

• The Black Spot: Raoul Ruiz and Treasure Island review by JW McCormack at n+1 Magazine (2011)
• À la recherche de L'Île perdue Master's thesis by Edmund Stenson (2015)