EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT Trailer
When men find a world different from their own, their minds race with fanciful thoughts of what it might contain. The legends of the native people seem somehow plausible, and men risk everything to find the magical items squirrelled away in its depths.
This narrative has played out innumerable times throughout history, often leading to devastation for the land that the men find so captivating. Attempting to capture and comment on this mood is Embrace of the Serpent, which tracks two men who travel deep into the Amazon in search of a healing plant.
The film is riding a wave of festival accolades and can forever boast that it’s the first Columbian film to earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. It seems too abstract to land a win, but of course that’s no reflection on how good the film actually is. The legends that it’s drawing comparisons to include Aguirre, the Wrath of God and Dead Man, neither of which got any Oscar attention. Still, the historic nomination should translate to more people giving this film a shot.
Therein lies the beauty of awards season. Yes, the whole thing is a ridiculous farce, but it also generates a lot of media attention and expanded releases for the movies that get nominated. There’s always a few films in there that truly deserve the boost, and Embrace of the Serpent, it looks like, just might be one of them.
Embrace of the Serpent is directed by Ciro Guerra. It stars Nilbio Torres, Jan Bijvoet, Antonio Bolívar, and Brionne Davis. It will be released in the U.S. on February 17th, 2016. International release dates can be found here.
Will you take advantage of its theatrical release and track down Embrace of the Serpent?
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