Embrace of the Serpent (2015)

  • Adventure, Drama
  • 2h 5m
“How can he learn if he doesn’t respect?”

A breathtaking Oscar-nominated cinematic odyssey through the Amazon, following the quests of two Western explorers (one in 1909 and the other in the 1940s) in search of a rare flower alleged to have healing properties. Inspired by the real-life journals kept by Theodor Koch-Grunberg (Jan Bijvoet) and Richard Evans Schultes (Brionne Davis), the film charts each man’s treacherous and life-changing journey. Though decades apart, both are guided through the labyrinthine rivers and jungles by the same native shaman, Karamakate (Nilbio Torres, and later Antonio Bolivar Salvado Yangiama), the last surviving member of his tribe, who takes them deeper and deeper into a heart of darkness. With spectacular black-and-white cinematography and evocative sound design, Ciro Guerra’s film is one of a kind.

“A dazzling, singular vision. Poetic, surreal and ravishing.” — Variety

Director

Ciro Guerra

Languages

Spanish, Portuguese, Aboriginal, German, Catalan, Latin, English

Hardcoded Subtitles

English

Countries

Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina