Embrace of the Serpent (2016)

Phenomenal account of two explorers, 30 years apart, trying to find a mysterious healing plant in the Amazon jungle. We follow their journeys and see how the amazon is set to be torn apart by 'whites'. The shamen that is the last of his tribe leads both expeditions and teaches the explorers what it is to dream, be alive and at one with nature.There is one unforgettable moment when the expedition party encounters a rubber plant extractor. David Gallego's photography and the sound editing is just incredible. It's a unique spiritual experience. A remarkable film.

Viewed at the Golden Apricot Armenian film festival in Yerevan, 2015 "The Embrace of the Serpent", best picture prize, Golden Apricot festival, Yerevan. Director, Ciro Guerra, Columbia. This film was the discovery of the year for me and it was obvious from the word go that it was going to win the top festival prize. Shot entirely in crisp penetrating black and white. This is the story of the relationship between Karamakate, a nearly naked very muscular Amazonian shaman, the last survivor of his people, and two German botanists who work together overthe course of 40 years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant. Employs native Amazonian languages on most of the soundtrack.So realistic it looks like an anthropological documentary on primitive people. Gripping. Hypnotic -- plays out entirely in the jungle -- you are there. Cast: Nilbio Torres as Young Karamate, with sculptured body Antonio Bolivar as old Karamakate. Bottom Line: One of the most unusual movies ever made.

A gorgeous-looking film set in the Amazon jungle."Embrace of the Serpent" tells two stories straddling two periods of time, linked by one character who appears as a young man in the first and an old man in the second. Both stories involve a quest for a rare and special plant, wanted for very different reasons in each. But "Embrace of the Serpent" is much more about plot than story, and it's very concerned with the impact civilization, and white men in particular, have had on indigenous communities, and the callousness with which they have raped the wilderness. The film, with its fluid black and white cinematography, looks marvelous. But there was something about its tone and its facile treatment of its subject matter that left me cold. The film has a very "white man bad, native man noble" approach that put me, as a white man, admittedly on the defensive and kept me from getting absorbed in the story. It's not that I disagree about the damage white populations have caused throughout history, but at this delicate moment in our cultural conversation, when race and tolerance have become such hot button issues and what we need more than anything is intelligent and reasoned dialogue, I resist art that wants to boil complicated issues into black and white (forgive the pun) sermons.I would recommend this film, but do so with qualifications. It received an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 2015, the first nomination ever given to a film from Colombia.Grade: B

This film, is not only great but a master piece. In a film industry so saturated by sequels, franchises and other such blockbusters that follow the Hollywood formula into an eternal cycle. Here, that is most interesting that it is in South America where he find its remedy. Never before have I seen a film so beautiful, so engulfing that I truly feel honoured to witness it. Portraying a naked view of humanity, and our weaknesses in the west. This film will not 'tell you' what to think, but provides a side that is rarely seen. A lost culture and so much lost knowledge. This movie is a tale in symbolism, in fantasy. A film which has an 'Apocalypse Now' feel to it. It is not afraid to expose harsh truths, nor is it one to mask naivety and ignorance of the indigenous populations. With the beautiful cinematography, incredible acting, and the note perfect music. This film is more than a work of art. It is a far cry from the golden age of film. And yet too, teaches us golden lessons in the purity, the simplicity of both nature and humanity.