2015 adventure movie
Rating: 16/20
Plot: White people employ the services of a shaman in the Amazon to find some sort of plant.
Cory recommended this a while ago, and I finally decided I was in the mood to watch it. I like that it's labeled as an "adventure movie." If it's in that genre, it's the slowest adventure movie of all time. The movie was made in Colombia and uses seven different languages, but to me, it felt very Japanese. No, Japanese wasn't one of the languages. But it moves like a tired glacier, leaving you a ton of room to reflect on these characters, their relationships, and their motivations. And you'll want to do that, too.
The main character, Karamakate, is an enigma, the last of his people and a guy whose motivation to help these white guys is never entirely clear. We see Karamakate at two points in his life as two explorer/scientist dudes enter his world forty years apart. The narrative is non-linear, bouncing back and forth between the two times. There are parallels and there are more subtle differences that suggest the effects on time on this place and this particular character. And without saying anything in any obvious ways or making grand statements, it's really quite profound. It's not quite a character study, but I did like seeing this stoic character at these two different periods in his life.
Forty years. The world changes. White people fuck everything up.
Gorgeous black and white imagery made this easy to look at for the duration. There's a richness to the scenery that I never got tired of. The rain forest and the river are immense, but the way this is filmed, it almost feels claustrophobic. And otherworldly! It reminded me a little of Werner Herzog, which I suspect might be one of the reasons Cory recommended it. He'll have to leave a comment and let you all know if there's any truth to that. Dreamlike and haunting, this probably won't satisfy your need for an exciting action movie, but it is definitely worth checking out.
I did think of Herzog, mainly "Fitzcarraldo" but this is more of a dreamy and sensory experience. I enjoyed the dual timeline framework and the visual style. It was a beautifully shot film that effectively shows how civilization, mostly through religion and business effectively destroys unique cultures and environments. I'm glad you saw it the same way I did, since it is not something I would recommend to many people. A 16.
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