[EMBRACE OF THE
SERPENT opens in Cleveland on Friday March 11th exclusively at the Cedar
Lee Theatre.]
Review by Bob Ignizio
Karamakate is a powerful shaman and the last living member
of his tribe. As such, he is keeper of certain knowledge regarding
hallucinogenic plants sacred to his people, a knowledge he would just as soon
see fade from existence as share with the white man who has come to his land,
taken its resources (notably rubber), and slaughtered and enslaved its people.
When we first meet Karamakate in EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT, it is 1909 and he is still a relatively
young man played by Nilbio Torres. A westernized native named Manduca (Yauenkü
Migue) has sought him out, having been told by the other shamans that he is the
only one who can save Manduca’s friend, a German explorer named Theo (Jan
Bijvoet). To do so will require a plant known as yakruna, sacred to Karamakate’s
people. Despite strong reservations, the shaman is eventually convinced to
help, and the three men set off by boat for what will prove to be a most eventful
adventure.
We don’t yet know how that adventure will play out, though,
when the film moves forward in time to 1940. An older Karamakate is again
approached by Manduca to help yet another white explorer, this time an American
named Evan (Brionne Davis). But now, Karamakate is a hollow shell of his old
self, seemingly unable to remember his old knowledge, and yet compelled to try and
help this second explorer, and perhaps get a bit of his soul back along the
way.
Certainly director Ciro Guerra, who co-wrote the film with Jacques
Toulemonde Vidal based on the diaries of real life explorers Richard Evans
Schultes and Theodor Koch-Grunberg, is trying to convey an anti-colonialism
theme here. But he also seems to be putting some of the responsibility on
Karamakate for not taking the opportunity to teach the white man. Perhaps if he
had been more trusting of Theo, both he and his country would have been better
off. Or perhaps not. Either way, the rubber barons would probably have kept
coming, and kept exploiting the land and its people.
Although this theme is always present, EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT never feels heavy handed. It is an
enthralling adventure and a metaphysical journey that at times recalls both
Werner Herzog’s South American films AGUIRRE,
THE WRATH OF GOD and FITZCARALDO,
and at others the midnight movie head trips of (also Chilean) director
Alejandro Jodorowsky’s EL TOPO and THE HOLY MOUNTAIN, albeit in a far more
accessible and comprehensible fashion.
The movie is shot mostly in black and white, which aside
from the aesthetic pleasures of the medium seems appropriate given that
everything in this film – the land and its people – has been drained of life.
Color comes in only in one sequence, and while it’s perhaps a bit obvious and
on the nose, it nonetheless works.
EMBRACE OF THE
SERPENT won was nominated for this year’s Academy Award for “Best Foreign Language Film”, and although it didn't win,
you’d be hard pressed to find a more deserving work. It is not an “eat your
vegetables” kind of arthouse film, but one I imagine even mainstream
moviegoers, provided they aren’t turned off by subtitles, would enjoy if they
give it a chance. 4 out of 4 stars.
Killer review Bob.
ReplyDeleteKeep it up.
Ronnie forever!