‘Embrace of the Serpent’ is a film about the Amazonian shaman, Karamkate, who travels the river, forty years apart, with two separate German ethnologists, searching for the mysterious and psychedelic Yakruna plant.
I have been surprised by how much cross-over there has been between my shamanic blog and this film blog – despite splitting the websites into two, my film reviews still seem to have concentrated on films of particular interest to the shamanic community and this film is no exception. Indeed, this is possibly the most ‘shamanic’ film yet devised.
The first thing to say is that this is an extraordinarily, beautiful film, with stunning black and white cinematography, which immerses the viewer in a lost world they could never otherwise hope to glimpse. There are still occasional cinema screenings but the Blu Ray version is as gorgeous a recreation as I had hoped.
Inspired by the journals of two real-life explorers, there are shades of the novel ‘Hearts of Darkness’ (which, of course, inspired the film, ‘Apocalypse Now’) and Herzog’s film, ‘Aguirre, Wrath of God’, as the men experience strange encounters with colourful characters in the jungle and both men plunge into something close to madness.
There is a wonderful moment, which expresses the damage ‘civilisation’ does to native people, where one of the ethnologists, Theo, realises his compass has been stolen and he demands its return. The viewer initially has some sympathy with Karamkate, who is critical that Theo cannot expect to hold back progress, but then the ethnologist points out that leaving the compass will mean the natives will lose the ability to navigate by the stars within a generation, if they come to rely upon the ‘technology’ of the compass.
Likewise, then, we ‘shamanic tourists’ visit with South American native populations with the best of intentions, hoping to enjoy something of their simpler, cleaner lives, little realising what a corrupting influence we can be ourselves. If you think this is no longer the case, my shamanic teacher, Chris, asked me to consider how the young islanders of Amantani feel when we visit them and see our iPads and our smart phones. I think that we need to think about how their desire for such objects might affect their lives and their community.
Far more than the ethnologists, however, it is Karamkate’s journey, which most resonates. So strong and certain as the young, rainbow warrior, Karamkate’s older incarnation is a desolate soul, doubting his place in the world and hoping that the Yakruna plant will restore his sense of purpose.
Out now on DVD and Blu Ray (from Peccadillo Pictures), seek out this film and take the journey for yourself but be prepared to be haunted by it…