Where the River Runs Black is a 1986 film directed by Christopher Cain and starring Charles Durning, Peter Horton, and Dana Delany.

Known through local folklore as a seductive spirit who can change into a river dolphin, Father Mahoney is overcome by his desire during this particular encounter and is intimate with the woman.

On his return to the missionary that same day, Father Mahoney is killed by an anaconda, never knowing the woman he left behind is now pregnant.

With great excitement that part of Mahoney has lived on, O'Reilly takes in and baptizes the boy, who does not speak or understand language.

Father O'Reilly continues to visit Lazaro, usually taking him out for ice cream and teaching him Christian values, such as the concept of forgiveness, particularly toward the men that killed his mother.

Meanwhile, Father O'Reilly travels up the Amazon by boat, acting on a hunch that Lazaro might return to his forest home.

While walking with Segundo on a forest trail leading to his old home, Santos catches up with him, grabbing him from behind, carrying him into the river where he tries to drown him.

Father O'Reilly arrives on the scene and is highly conflicted as he feels he should save the drowning man in front of him whose hand is now reaching out for help, but chooses to do nothing knowing he just tried to kill Lazaro.

Now legendary among the people of the community, Lazaro is said to be seen at times still living in the jungle and playing with the river dolphins - while also thought to be able to turn into one himself.

The film begins and ends through the narration of Father O'Reilly, while at confession and seeking his own forgiveness for letting a man die when he could have saved him.

[4]Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times enjoyed the film and rated it 3 stars out of his 4 star rating system and had praise for Cain's direction: Here is a fable with the most unlikely ingredients, and yet, like all fables, it will work if we allow it to... Told in the wrong way, "Where the River Runs Black" could very easily seem silly.