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Embrace The Serpent

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posted on Sep, 26 2017 @ 02:28 PM
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Embrace The Serpent

Watched this film recently and was blown away! Great cinematography, storyline, characters and mysticism, all shot in rich black and white. A very satisfying viewing experience and I thought of ATS while watching it and figured some here would appreciate being made aware of it. The natives are the protagonists here, which is a different spin than past films/writings on the similar subject.

I sat silently while watching, engulfed in the unfolding scenery and story, and felt I was in a dreamlike state, a sensation only a handful of movies have induced in me. While there is dialogue, other elements of the film work to transport the viewer to another world by immersing them in a sublimely textured journey that suspends time and forces you to experience the awe and wonder as well as the emotion, both individually and collectively and quite heavily at times. There is no sound track, so silence is masterfully used throughout the film which serves to really connect the viewer with the entire spectacle of setting and characters.

I was blown away by this film and think it belongs on the shelf as a masterpiece work, cult classic and must see for movie and history fans. I hope some of you may dig it as well.

A good review

Some excerpts from various write-ups:

Embrace of the Serpent was “inspired” by the diaries of two (white) explorers who both searched for yakruna in different eras: German ethnologist Theodor Koch-Grünberg in the early twentieth century, and, decades later, American biologist Richard Evans Schultes. As depicted in the film, both explorers are ill in their own way: “Theo” is physically sick, while “Evan” is metaphysically sick, having never once dreamed in his sleep. For both, yakruna is the supposed cure. Neither character is the film’s protagonist. It’s Karamakate, a shaman and the last of his tribe, who helps Theo and Evan during different periods of his life (old Karamakate is played by Antonio Bolívar Salvador, who is indeed one of the last of his people, the Ocaina). Karamakate isn’t a stereotypical “noble savage,” though. He condescends to his white companions at least as often as they do to him; as he says to Evan, “You devote your life to plants. That’s the most reasonable thing I’ve ever heard a white say.” And while he’s protective of the rainforest, Karamakate is so distrustful of outsiders that he’d rather watch it burn than let whites exploit it.




The film, which won the biggest prize at Cannes Directors' Fortnight and has left American critics breathless with praise, relays the same magnificent spirit of the jungle as in Werner Herzog's classic Fitzcarraldo, but this time tells its story from the indigenous perspective. It's a film that's constantly on the move through this vast, sacred jungle—a sort of psychedelic road trip by canoe—that deals with the history of colonial oppression, religion, and madness. What makes Guerra's film so moving and unique is how well it captures the immensity of the jungle and the incredible lives of the people who have existed there for centuries.


Ciro Guerra’s gorgeous picture just has that ripped-from-your-dreams sensibility, where surprising turns float alongside a story you feel like you’ve known your whole life. Embrace of the Serpent is the type of film we’re always searching for, yet seems so obvious once we’ve found it


Interview with director.



edit on 2pmf30302630 by waftist because: (no reason given)



posted on Sep, 26 2017 @ 02:42 PM
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Saw this movie at a filmfestival a few years back. Absolutely stunning.

I really wanted this movie to be considered AS a best foreign picture at the academy awards, but I suppose the topics it raises is still a bit touchy.
Highly recommended.



posted on Sep, 26 2017 @ 03:03 PM
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a reply to: waftist

It looks like it's available on Amazon Prime. If so, I will check it out tonight. Thanks so much for the heads-up. Looks very interesting and I'm so sick of the Hollywood film factory of drivel and cliche.



posted on Sep, 26 2017 @ 04:59 PM
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originally posted by: HenryTrondheim
Saw this movie at a filmfestival a few years back. Absolutely stunning.

I really wanted this movie to be considered AS a best foreign picture at the academy awards, but I suppose the topics it raises is still a bit touchy.
Highly recommended.

I too thought it should be nominated. I realize it's not everyone's cup o tea, but even objectively it's a masterpiece avant-garde piece of art imho.
Thanks for the reply!



posted on Sep, 26 2017 @ 05:01 PM
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originally posted by: TobyFlenderson
a reply to: waftist

It looks like it's available on Amazon Prime. If so, I will check it out tonight. Thanks so much for the heads-up. Looks very interesting and I'm so sick of the Hollywood film factory of drivel and cliche.

Cool, I did not know it was on AP, and yea it's a film with depth, meaning and contrasting perspectives, as far as history interpretations. Hope you enjoy it and I think you will!



posted on Sep, 26 2017 @ 09:39 PM
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a reply to: waftist

Just watched it. That is one fantastic movie. It is really well done and the director made some amazing choices, IMHO. The story line has layers of meaning that are just so thought provoking. For the majority of the movie I thought it was a critique about Western Culture but one that was done masterfully and was not full of cliche. However, in retrospect I think it is more than that and maybe a bit hopeful. Any movie that leaves me contemplative is a good movie. This is a great one.



posted on Sep, 26 2017 @ 09:57 PM
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a reply to: TobyFlenderson

Awesome, so glad you took the time and yea this one is special. So powerful, somber and with depth in spirit, human nature and of course nature itself. I loved the intro and outros, explicit imagery illustrating intent so well!
Yes it did seem like an honest portrayal of the situation with a westerner(s) that were both positive and negative. I think the movie does such a good examination of both sides that after the movie I felt saddened and hopeful as you say, in an interesting mix that again is a testament to this film.

I had all my turned all my lights off and watched this on a big screen with surround sound in the dark, so it really pulled me in. The journey was enlightening as well as impassioned and raw. I think it should become part of some academic curriculum.

Thanks for a meaningful reply




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