Film Analysis: Embrace Of The Serpent

Cinema Du Parc is a reportery theatre that showcases independent films, whether it be arthouse or international cinema. It is located on Parc Avenue in Downtown Montreal, specifically inside a plaza filled with institutions such as cofee shops, grocery and clothing stores...

Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra, 2015), follows Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman, and his encounters with two scientists, German Theodor Koch-Grunberg and American Richard Evans Schultes, as they search for the sacred yakruna plant. The film is loosely inspired by the diaries written by the two scientists during their field work in the Amazon and, more specifically, analyses certain consequences regarding the rubber boom era in Colombia.

In terms of the film' social

context, Karamakate, in both his old and new versions, signifies pride and of tragedy, a sorcer and a saint who faces the unstoppable current of history. He is wise to his local role inland, and is wise to point out when the typical exploitative white man is near. Thematically, a recurrent issue illustrated in the film is the struggle between the indigenous identity and the globalized culture, who are swiftly overtaking Colombia.

The film’s performances are masterful and effectively convey the idiosyncrasies of indigenous culture. Karamakate, expertly played by Nilbio Torres, demonstrates the struggle of a man rooted in his native culture while having to deal with rubber producers, who wish to erase what is most important to Karamakate. Periodically, Torres shows a increased acceptance and trust that develops between local communities as they get along for a certain time. Yauenkü Migu, who plays Manduca, a river guide, is also a native man who attempts to co-exist with the ever so present western culture in order to assist his people in securing a better life but faces the criticism of being a "sellout." Migu convincingly conveys the internal struggle of this character and the emotional burden he carries. "Embrace of the Serpent", however, is a spiritual story above a cultural one, that includes many symbolic elements that give off various meanings. The natives' harmonious relantionship with nature showcases symbolism is present in their everyday lives. Additionally Embrace of the Serpent is effective when reaching for religious themes. An encounter with a disfigured native who grovels for his

life after Karamakate ruins the man’s rubber harvest particularly resonates, far more so than vague symbolism of jaguars, serpents and meteors. Moreover, a scene depicting how Theo reinforces colonial ideology masked under his discipline of anthropology comes when, on leaving a village, he realizes someone has kept his compass. While becomes violent and demands it back, Karamakate questions him why it matters and he rudely responds that their tribe is a culture that navigates by wind and stars. Their dissagreement is indicative of their conflicting ideologies. Anthropology demands that you do not alter to the cultures you investigate, which is expectedly conflicting with all aspects in culture that natives swear by.
In regards to cinematography, David Gallego produces masterful camerawork that is perhaps the film's most standout feature, in terms of what viewers are able to see through the camera lens. The camera has a habit of stalking through the forest, swiveling around trees and gliding over the river. The duality of the black and white does not diminish the vibrancy and diversity observed throughout the protagonist’s journey. The film is told through their perspective, in their language — or rather, languages. The characters speak in cubeo, tikuna and huitoto, as well as Spanish, Portuguese, German and Latin. It’s the Amazon in the way a native might see it, and as Karamakate wished, it serves as a reminder of the gifts God has given us. Guerra also collaborated with local communities to produce the film. Similarly to the newly award winning film The Revenant, Guerra decides to use natural lighting when filming to authenticate the film's setting.
In amalgamating formal and social aspects of the film, memory is a central theme, as is the struggle for permanence in a society that is constantly threatening to erase one’s identity.Guerra cuts back and forth between both storylines, we begin to understand how Karamakate ended up this way and how heartbroken he must have been to lose the world he had once loved.

When the younger Karamakate encounters a group of native orphans at a Spanish mission, he admonishes them to "Never forget who you are and where you came from." The fact that he has done so himself is not lost on the viewer, and the older Karamakate’s journey becomes one of self-preservation through remembrance. This conflicting content is intensified by Guerra’s decision to shoot the film entirely in black and white, with the exeption of one particular scene in the film's conclusion. The filiming in black-and-white offers a certain authenticity that allows an image to appear more timeless. With a film in this particular setting, one might dissagree with the filmmaker's choice of not taking advantage of the vivid colors of the jungle, however the director's primary concern does clearly not ride on the film's visuals so much so as the film's content which focuses on conflicting tenses, -namely past and present, regarding constant survival. Without color, the Amazon also appears more foreign to us,, providing audience's a sense of mystery. Historically, Guerra offers elegant shots of the setting's landscape while not

shying away from the brutal and often torturous past of these natives. He combines spectacular shots of the Amazon’s natural beauty with displays of cruelty regarding colonialism, religion, and, ultimately, the loss of culture.
Moreover, Cinema Du Parc, as a repertory cinema, offers content-based films that give a fresh insight to the film's topics. While many showcased movies displayed in mainstream theatres are innefective in accurately portraying the importance of the film's thematic core, Cinema Du Parc succeeds as a reportory cinema on it's own. An ideosynchrasy of the cinema is the decorative mezzanine art galler. The artful display of paintings is indicative of the clientel's purchase and prepares them to be surrounded by art, through the format of a DCP or 35mm projector. Furthermore, this gallery offers oppurnity, as it is currently taking submissions where artists can exhibit their art. Regarding the setting and atmosphere, the cinema's numerous clientel were visibly majority foreign speaking, which is understandable due to the cinema's various current international showings. Similarly to any Montreal located mainstream cinema, Du Parc's admissions all hold at around the 10$ mark (depending on age), and offer membership cards that hold discounts to various locations sucb as museums, art galleries and festvals. Slight criticisms regarding the cinema's only dissapointing facotors are entailed in the actual viewing experience. The overall comfiness inside the theatre is subdued to it's chairs and the actual screen is comparatively smaller to others. However, these aspects are not surprising due to the cinema's lower budget.
Unlike other mainstream cinema's, Du Parc is an eventful location (don't forget to check out the cinema's 7th annual Latino American festival) that holds a certain importance to viewers who prefer an artful yet momentous experience at the cinema.