Embrace of the Serpent (2015)

The story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists who work together over the course of forty years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant.

Director:

Ciro Guerra

Writers:

Ciro Guerra, Theodor Koch-Grünberg (based on the diary by) (as Theodor Koch-Grunberg)

Stars:

Nilbio Torres, Jan Bijvoet, Antonio Bolívar

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 46 wins & 32 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Nilbio Torres	...	Young Karamakate
Antonio Bolívar	...	Old Karamakate (as Tafillama-Antonio Bolívar Salvador)
Jan Bijvoet	...	Theo
Brionne Davis	...	Evan
Miguel Dionisio Ramos	...	Manduca (as Yauenkü Miguee)
Luigi Sciamanna	...	El Misionero
Nicolás Cancino	...	El Mesías
Pediwake Daniel Martinez	...	Santiago
José Sabogal	...	El Siringuero
Marcilio Paiva	...	Tuschaua
Jaime Pereira	...	Payé Cohiuano
Marisel Mosquera	...	Mujer Pueblo Cohiuano
Pedro Bolívar	...	Borracho Cohiuano
Jorge Villa	...	Joven Cohiuano herido
Mauricio Hernández	...	Niño Cohiuano

Storyline

The story of the relationship between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman and last survivor of his people, and two scientists who work together over the course of forty years to search the Amazon for a sacred healing plant.

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Plot Keywords:

shaman | plant | amazon river | nonlinear timeline | amazonian indian | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Governor of the Guainía Department, decorated Ciro Guerra (the director) with the Order of the Inírida Flower for "exalting the respect and value of the indigenous populations, likewise giving the Department recognition for tourism and culture".

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Quotes

Old Karamakate: To become warriors, the cohiuanos must abandon all and go alone to the jungle, guided only by their dreams. In this journey, he has to find out, in solitude and silence, who he really is. He must become a wanderer dream. Many are lost, and some never return. But those who return they are ready to face what is to come.

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Connections

Featured in Starfilm (2017)

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Soundtracks

Dantesque Celebration (Fiesta Dantesca)
by Nascuy Linares
© 2016 Plaza Mayor Company, Ltd.

User Reviews

The Serpent's Haunting, Mystical, Poignant and Ethereal Embrace

.......from Pasto,Colombia...Via: L.A. CA., CALI, COLOMBIA and ORLANDO, FL

It isn't much of a leap to venture that the vast majority of IMDb Users have never seen a Colombian Film. If there is a single word in the above Title that grabs you, rest assured, you must "EMBRACE" this Oscar-nominated gem by placing it at the top of your "Must See" List! Colombian Director Ciro Guerra (Los Viajes del Viento/read my Review) has taken an Amazonian Shaman's reality-based Dream and crafted it into a visionary cinematic hallucination for the ages!

The operative term here is "Culture-Clash". Two delicately intertwined story lines, both inspired by travel journals authored three decades apart by two Amazonian explorers; German scientist Theodor Koch-Grunberg (Jan Bijvoet, "Borgman"), in 1909, and by American amateur botanist Richard Evans Schultes (Brionne Davis, "Avenged"), thirty years later.

EMBRACE opens a gritty and convincingly realistic window into the Colombian Amazon Region of the early 20th Century. Guerra gets up close and personal with some of the persistent cultural atrocities perpetrated on indigenous peoples in the Amazon region of Colombia, without dwelling inordinately on them. As if the three plus centuries of Spanish Colonial Rule had not provided enough genocide and torture!

For those of you addicted to "Fast and Furious" pacing in movies, undoubtedly, will find EMBRACE a bit "Tedious and Slow", but I would say, "Deliberate and True to Life". One can, at best, barely imagine the laid- back life rhythms in remote regions of the Amazon a century ago! The intentional ever-so-slightly grainy Black & White cinematography imbues EMBRACE with an authentic 1930's look and feel. Of course, there have been numerous critiques of thusly having deprived us of the myriad of Amazon shades of greenBut EMBRACE is not a Travel Promo and I applaud Ciro Guerra's Black & White decision!

Here is a comment/comparison you probably might not see anywhere else: Although Director Ciro Guerra was born in 1981, I can't help but think that, as a kid, he saw and was influenced by Stanley Kubrick's 1968, "2001" (My Favorite Movie)! There were, in my opinion, a number of interesting parallels, confirmation of which I will leave up to you! Shaman Karamakate, the last survivor of his tribe (Nibio Torres-young/Antonio Bolivar-old) who has been chewed up and spit out as a lifelong victim of culture clash, and, as a result, defines himself as "chullachaqui", a walking empty shell zombie of a man.

EMBRACE is light years from being a feel-good movie, yet, there is a "spirituality and focus which can help you transcend even a worst- case scenario of mistreatment and misfortune in life", that is transformational and which provides ground swelling inspiration! This unique film would probably appeal to those who crave unusual true stories, those of you who enjoy Drama focused on a Clash of Cultures, and movies set in exotic locations!

10*.....ENJOY/DISFRUTELA!

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [Japan]

Country:

Colombia Venezuela Argentina

Language:

Spanish Portuguese Aboriginal German Catalan Latin English

Release Date:

25 May 2015 (Colombia)

Also Known As:

Embrace of the Serpent

Filming Locations:

Vaupés, Colombia

Box Office

Budget:

$1,400,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$50,955, 21 February 2016

Gross USA:

$1,329,249

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,217,176

Company Credits

Production Co:

Buffalo Films, Buffalo Producciones, Caracol Televisión

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Black and White Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1