First, I want to make it clear that I do not agree with some people on «Embrace of the Serpent». For me it is an important and valuable film, regardless of its awards, for the sole merit (if it only had one) of reminding us all people of America the continent, that we have let trample the great contribution of the original cultures of this land: the harmonious coexistence with Nature and the knowledge and benefits that derive from it.
We betrayed that contribution by embracing the Judeo-Christian "ideals" of the West that the "conquerors" brought, like the plague. We embraced the notions of the "white-faced gods" who gave us mirrors in exchange for our gold, and we adhered to the unruled development agenda, and the destruction and ignorance of all the wisdom contained in our original cultures. I do not compromise in this belief and for that, I consider «Embrace of the Serpent» a touchstone of contemporary Latin America cinema.
That said, there is a considerable gap between this film and «Birds of Summer». I do not know what the reason is. Maybe it is the direction shared with the producer Cristina Gallego, unlike other films in which Ciro Guerra had the sole credit. Maybe it is the flat Aristotelian script, less daring than that of «Embrace of the Serpent», with five chapters (or songs) that recount twelve years of increasing violence and death, in which new "white-faced gods" arrived with another agenda (the anticommunist campaigns of the Peace Corps) and language. Perhaps it is the theatricality of a few professional actors contrasting with the freshness of natural actors, or the inevitable intrusion of melodrama, which affects the impact of the tragedy being told.
The drama of the young Wayuu Rapayet (José Acosta) who, to win the hand of Zaida (Natalia Reyes), must raise a fortune to pay the dowry that will benefit the bride's family clan, under the supervision of the energetic matriarch Úrsula (Carmiña Martínez), becomes entangled as the history of drug trafficking is settling and dominating the story.
It would be easy to applaud the achievement if we were to see an action film, with tension, death and shooting, and to pry into rites and customs of a culture that resists extinction, largely caused by our indifference and stupidity. However, in «Birds of Summer» coexists another film, which is not historical memory, but is nourished by it; and that is not anthropology, but benefits from the beauty of the Wayuu Nation, its people and manifestations.
In the midst of this search for balance, in my opinion partially achieved, the film navigates. The movie is more complex and ambitious than the easy associations that some people make, like old westerns or the Corleone saga. It is an attempt to entertain, mixing elements of an indigenous culture (which some call "exotic") and the history of Colombia.
In my eyes, the attempt is too much like «mainstream» cinema (like the imitations that Solanas and Getino called "second cinema") and that, in my opinion, we do not need in Latin America.
We betrayed that contribution by embracing the Judeo-Christian "ideals" of the West that the "conquerors" brought, like the plague. We embraced the notions of the "white-faced gods" who gave us mirrors in exchange for our gold, and we adhered to the unruled development agenda, and the destruction and ignorance of all the wisdom contained in our original cultures. I do not compromise in this belief and for that, I consider «Embrace of the Serpent» a touchstone of contemporary Latin America cinema.
That said, there is a considerable gap between this film and «Birds of Summer». I do not know what the reason is. Maybe it is the direction shared with the producer Cristina Gallego, unlike other films in which Ciro Guerra had the sole credit. Maybe it is the flat Aristotelian script, less daring than that of «Embrace of the Serpent», with five chapters (or songs) that recount twelve years of increasing violence and death, in which new "white-faced gods" arrived with another agenda (the anticommunist campaigns of the Peace Corps) and language. Perhaps it is the theatricality of a few professional actors contrasting with the freshness of natural actors, or the inevitable intrusion of melodrama, which affects the impact of the tragedy being told.
The drama of the young Wayuu Rapayet (José Acosta) who, to win the hand of Zaida (Natalia Reyes), must raise a fortune to pay the dowry that will benefit the bride's family clan, under the supervision of the energetic matriarch Úrsula (Carmiña Martínez), becomes entangled as the history of drug trafficking is settling and dominating the story.
It would be easy to applaud the achievement if we were to see an action film, with tension, death and shooting, and to pry into rites and customs of a culture that resists extinction, largely caused by our indifference and stupidity. However, in «Birds of Summer» coexists another film, which is not historical memory, but is nourished by it; and that is not anthropology, but benefits from the beauty of the Wayuu Nation, its people and manifestations.
In the midst of this search for balance, in my opinion partially achieved, the film navigates. The movie is more complex and ambitious than the easy associations that some people make, like old westerns or the Corleone saga. It is an attempt to entertain, mixing elements of an indigenous culture (which some call "exotic") and the history of Colombia.
In my eyes, the attempt is too much like «mainstream» cinema (like the imitations that Solanas and Getino called "second cinema") and that, in my opinion, we do not need in Latin America.