Embrace of the Serpent

Colombian writer/director Ciro Guerra's epic, spiralling adventure takes a journey upriver through South American geography, history and myth to deliver one of the most ravishing films from the continent in years. Plaiting together stories that unfold in two different time periods, the Oscar-nominated movie follows how a shaman named Karamakate, the last of his tribe (played as young man and venerable elder by different actors), engages with visitors from the developed world who come to the Amazon in search of a rare healing plant. In each storyline, Karamakate and his companions witness the ravages wrought by the rubber trade that leaves scars not just on the land but on the people themselves. And twice he has chilling encounters at a mission deep in the jungle where the Christian brothers use torture and brainwashing to wipe out the language, religion and culture of the local tribespeople. David Gallego's opalescent monochrome cinematography is simply breathtaking and only enhances an utterly magnetic experience.