Offering proof that people are people wherever you go, the seven-part reality TV series Living with the Kombai Tribe finds extreme traveler Mark Anstice and journalist Olly Steeds trekking through a rainforest thicket in West Papua to meet the Kombai tribe. Discovered only a quarter-century ago, the Kombai are still essentially living in the Stone Age, although they are certainly aware that modernity, for better or worse, lies beyond their jungle home. Anstice and Steeds present themselves to a Kombai family, asking to be shown the ways of survival, and over time are adopted and made de facto sons. The family builds the pair a treehouse 80 feet off the ground, and teaches them how to hunt rats, snakes, and wild pigs, as well as what to do when flooding occurs and food becomes scarce. Anstice and Steeds both shed their Western diets (and forgo luxuries) to embark on this rugged existence, with part of the show's appeal lying in a comic angle contrasting Mark's adaptability with Olly's incompetence (“Oh, Olly!” the Kombai women remark with a mix of maternal exasperation and flirtatious wonder). What viewers discover from watching Living with the Kombai Tribe is just how universal some experiences are—ranging from exhibiting discretion (when Anstice and Steeds begin to probe too deeply into plans to avenge a murder) to surrogate parenthood—with everything leading to an amazing concluding episode in which the pair are invited to join a sumptuous feast that runs smoothly…until one of the Kombai is accused of witchcraft. DVD extras include a highlights reel. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
Living with the Kombai Tribe
(2008) 2 discs. 248 min. DVD: $19.98. Image Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). October 13, 2008
Living with the Kombai Tribe
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