Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra, 2015): Colombia | Venezuela | Argentina

Reviewed by Martin Hutchinson. Viewed at the Metro Four Theater, Santa Barbara.

Ciro Guerra’s Oscar nominated Embrace of the Serpent is a masterclass in film making and possibly my favorite film of the year. We are transported to another era, another life, another place and the work behind this transition is so masterfully executed and rendered that we cannot help but surrender to it.

The film is set in the Colombian Amazon in 1909 and 1940;  these two story-lines interlace throughout the film. The binding element is the character of Karamakate, a sage shaman who leads scientists in both timelines in a search for the rare and valuable Yakruna plant. In their search for the plant they move through the history of colonization and discover the nature of the Colombian Amazon. The film is loosely based on the diaries of two scientists who made similar treks through the Amazon during comparable time periods.

What makes this film so astonishingly refreshing is that it dispenses with many conventions that we expect from most films. The unconventional structure of the plot with regard to time echoes indigenous Amazonian views on time and its perception. The film is shot beautifully in black and white and the camera painstakingly follows the expeditions across the Amazon River’s vast expanse. These artistic decisions are stunningly contrasted during a “hallucinated” sequence in the film where the camera suddenly “ascends” into the air, unbound from the earth and the screen bursts into vibrant color.  Incidentally, even the casting of the film was unorthodox. The lead actor who portrays the young Karamakate (Nilbio Torres) was initially only approached to be photographed and consulted. He refused to do either, but when pressed by his family he relented but insisted that he either act in the film or have nothing to do with it.

This film is one of those special breeds that is ambitious in its ideas yet doesn’t come up short in their execution. It oozes authenticity, teaches a forgotten history, and evokes an almost religious experience. By religious, I don’t refer to any dogmatic interpretation but rather to a type of transcendence that allows you to feel for a moment that you have peeled back the veneer of the universe and been allowed a brief glimpse beyond.