Ardor

Kai, a mysterious man, emerges from the Amazon rain forest near a remote tobacco farm whose owner is being threatened by armed men working for those who wish to take the land for soya farming. Shortly afterwards three of these men turn up and kill the farmer and take his daughter, Vania, with then. Kai follows them back into the jungle and manages to rescue Vania... they know the men won't stop though and prepare to face them back at the farm.

I had little idea of what to expect with this film; I didn't even know what genre it was... it is closest to being a western with its theme of people being threatened in order that other more powerful people might take their land. There are also ecological themes. The story is simple with a fairly minimal amount of dialogue. It looks great even if it is a bit slow to get going. Once the action starts it is exciting and leads to a finale that is both thrilling and atmospheric as heroes and villains face each other in a smoke covered farm. The cast are solid; notably Gael Garcia Bernal and Alice Braga as Kai and Vania; the villains might be a bit one dimensional but that isn't much of a problem. The jungle setting looks great, as one would expect. Overall I'd say this might not be a great film but it is decent and worth watching if you like westerns and are looking for something rather different.

These comments are based on watching the film in Spanish with English subtitles.