It's rare for me to see films which impress me to the point of spending time writing reviews. Without blowing my own trumpet, I studied film to Masters level, I think I have some idea what I'm talking about, I'm a busy person, time for me is a precious resource and I don't waste it.
Our Brazilian friends are much better qualified then I am to write about the ways this film is an analogy about Brazilian history and society so I'm going there in this review.
This really had me thinking and disturbed to the point that I couldn't sleep properly afterwards.
With all due respect I think those comparing it to Quentin Tarantino films would benefit from watching a more diverse range of movies. The treatment of violence here is nothing like Tarantino and serves a very different purpose. There's none of the extended dialogue of a Tarantino entertainment product, none of the endless pop culture references neither is there the constant expression of the N word.
Films which sit more comfortably alongside this would be Werner Herzog's 'Aguirre Wrath of God' another film (from the seventies) dealing with colonialism. Perhaps also Jodorowsky as well as some of Bunuel's output. There's a similar surrealism and sense of the uncanny of things just that little bit out of kilter.
I'd also put this film alongside the recent 'Midsommar' which while not dealing with colonialism nonetheless shares some similarities.
Colonialism isn't a strong enough word to describe what the Europeans did to the indigenous peoples of the Latin American continent. This film goes beyond being an obvious analogy of Brazil - I read it as a commentary upon the depravity of civilisation itself, exemplified in the scene when the naked shaman character, busy tending to his plants, is 'ambushed' by the two Americans who're part of some reality game consisting of people hunting down unarmed victims.
The merging of a dystopian science fiction film with a frankly unclassifiable genre - I'm going to invent the term psychedelic realism for want of a better word works really well. The film wrongfooted me at one point towards the end as I was thinking 'here's the twist' and it just wasn't.
Human beings are savage, depraved animals who enjoy killing and inflicting pain and suffering upon one another.
I certainly want to see this again because there's lots of symbolism and images pointing out clues which will reward a second and third viewing.
Some hope is offered in the way the film implies that sticking together might be one way to overcome our vilest impulses.
We're in a heavily mediated, technologically dependent society in which the line between reality and fantasy has all but disappeared for many people. Far from being rational, scientific, controlled by reason, it's contemporary civilisation which is savage and untamed and it's through the illogical, the psychedelic, the opening oneself up to nature which defies control and order, that our true spirit can emerge.
Or something. This film certainly got me thinking...........if you want an immersive, baffling, thought provoking experience this is the one.
Our Brazilian friends are much better qualified then I am to write about the ways this film is an analogy about Brazilian history and society so I'm going there in this review.
This really had me thinking and disturbed to the point that I couldn't sleep properly afterwards.
With all due respect I think those comparing it to Quentin Tarantino films would benefit from watching a more diverse range of movies. The treatment of violence here is nothing like Tarantino and serves a very different purpose. There's none of the extended dialogue of a Tarantino entertainment product, none of the endless pop culture references neither is there the constant expression of the N word.
Films which sit more comfortably alongside this would be Werner Herzog's 'Aguirre Wrath of God' another film (from the seventies) dealing with colonialism. Perhaps also Jodorowsky as well as some of Bunuel's output. There's a similar surrealism and sense of the uncanny of things just that little bit out of kilter.
I'd also put this film alongside the recent 'Midsommar' which while not dealing with colonialism nonetheless shares some similarities.
Colonialism isn't a strong enough word to describe what the Europeans did to the indigenous peoples of the Latin American continent. This film goes beyond being an obvious analogy of Brazil - I read it as a commentary upon the depravity of civilisation itself, exemplified in the scene when the naked shaman character, busy tending to his plants, is 'ambushed' by the two Americans who're part of some reality game consisting of people hunting down unarmed victims.
The merging of a dystopian science fiction film with a frankly unclassifiable genre - I'm going to invent the term psychedelic realism for want of a better word works really well. The film wrongfooted me at one point towards the end as I was thinking 'here's the twist' and it just wasn't.
Human beings are savage, depraved animals who enjoy killing and inflicting pain and suffering upon one another.
I certainly want to see this again because there's lots of symbolism and images pointing out clues which will reward a second and third viewing.
Some hope is offered in the way the film implies that sticking together might be one way to overcome our vilest impulses.
We're in a heavily mediated, technologically dependent society in which the line between reality and fantasy has all but disappeared for many people. Far from being rational, scientific, controlled by reason, it's contemporary civilisation which is savage and untamed and it's through the illogical, the psychedelic, the opening oneself up to nature which defies control and order, that our true spirit can emerge.
Or something. This film certainly got me thinking...........if you want an immersive, baffling, thought provoking experience this is the one.