Embrace of the Serpent

In the Amazon, the last surviving member of his people helps two white scientists, forty years apart, to find the same plant. The two timelines run in parallel. The film shows colonialism directly: forced rubber collection, violence in mission schools, the destruction of language and ritual. The narrative gives the point of view to the indigenous character and renders the researchers unintelligible, inverting the usual arrangement of the genre. Ciro Guerra directed; it is shot in black and white and largely spoken in indigenous languages. It was nominated for the foreign film Academy Award, the first Colombian film to be. Before watching: allegations of sexual harassment against the director were made public by several women in 2020. The film also shows missionary violence and self-harm directly.