"Embrace of the Serpent" is a beautifully photographed movie with some good acting, but these virtues are offset by a story line that is confused and awash with clichés. In essence, this is a movie about how whites and native people interacted in the Amazon during the good old days, and the portrayal of those interactions has two modes for each race that we have seen many times before in countless films. The whites are either crazy visionaries or corrupt, greedy and filled with self-loathing; the "natives" are either benevolent spirit guides and faithful servants of the whites or they are malevolent and dangerous to the whites (mostly because of the injustices inflicted on them previously by the whites). Here we see these character types in their unadulterated forms, behaving habitually according to type; this gives us the feeling we've seen "Embrace of the Serpent" before the first frame unspools.
Despite the unoriginal premise that animates it, this movie isn't painful to watch. There's plenty of action to divert your attention, and as already noted it is easy on the eyes. I must say, though, that I found the ending to be particularly lame. To say more about the ending would be to give away something that you have, nonetheless, already too often seen elsewhere.
The one thing that is a little bit different and positive about "Embrace of the Serpent" is that there are two timelines that intermingle -- the first one being in the early part of the 20th century and the second about 40 years later. The way the movie flows between these two timelines, which run in parallel during the film, is intriguing and well handled, particularly from the photographic point of view.
If you like glorious black and white photography featuring exotic scenes you'll appreciate the visuals; if you like predictable stories about whites exploiting "natives" and the pernicious, long-lasting effects of the exploitation you'll appreciate the plot. If neither of those happens to be true for you, this might not be your kind of movie.
Despite the unoriginal premise that animates it, this movie isn't painful to watch. There's plenty of action to divert your attention, and as already noted it is easy on the eyes. I must say, though, that I found the ending to be particularly lame. To say more about the ending would be to give away something that you have, nonetheless, already too often seen elsewhere.
The one thing that is a little bit different and positive about "Embrace of the Serpent" is that there are two timelines that intermingle -- the first one being in the early part of the 20th century and the second about 40 years later. The way the movie flows between these two timelines, which run in parallel during the film, is intriguing and well handled, particularly from the photographic point of view.
If you like glorious black and white photography featuring exotic scenes you'll appreciate the visuals; if you like predictable stories about whites exploiting "natives" and the pernicious, long-lasting effects of the exploitation you'll appreciate the plot. If neither of those happens to be true for you, this might not be your kind of movie.