Embrace of the Serpent

Unique and intoxicating, an art movie that grips like a thriller.

It is gripping, challenging, engrossing stuff, beginning to end. Seriously, what a film.

The film moves into psychedelic and violent territory, creating a perspective that is equally unreal and unforgettable.

[Karamakate is] a frankly great character in a thoroughly gripping film.

This stunning historical drama, shot mainly in black and white across the Amazon region of Colombia, focuses on a shaman who's approached at different points by white men seeking medicinal substances.

Though some of the concepts may be New Age boilerplate, the film's images linger; especially that of the river, the snake devouring us all.

While the naturalistic storytelling and imagery is fantastic on a surface level, the finer points of the narrative require a fearless and deeply inquisitive traveller to fully appreciate, something which this reviewer cannot claim to be.

It's both a challenging and engulfing movie-going experience -- a true journey on multiple levels. And it's definitely one that should be seen on the big screen.

Embrace of the Serpent is a mystical movie missile from Colombia. It's ballistic, balletic, sometimes brilliant.

I suppose, then, that it's possible to characterize Embrace of the Serpent, which seems aimed at western audiences, as an instructive and necessary act of trespass.

A film that honours the mysteries and majesty of a lost world.