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Embrace of the Serpent

Play trailer 2:16 Poster for Embrace of the Serpent Released Feb 17, 2016 2h 3m Adventure History Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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96% Tomatometer 149 Reviews 85% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
In the early 1900s, a young shaman in the Colombian Amazon helps a sick German explorer and his local guide search for a rare healing plant.
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Embrace of the Serpent

Embrace of the Serpent

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Critics Consensus

As rich visually as it is thematically, Embrace of the Serpent offers a feast of the senses for film fans seeking a dose of bracing originality.

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Critics Reviews

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Mallika Khanna Bitch Media Crucial for global audiences to see. Mar 15, 2021 Full Review Alexandra Heller-Nicholas The Blue Lenses While difficult to identify a single factor that renders the film such a remarkable achievement, at the top of any list would certainly be the central performances by Nilbio Torres and Antonio Bolíva. Aug 25, 2018 Full Review Nigel Andrews Financial Times Embrace of the Serpent is a mystical movie missile from Colombia. It's ballistic, balletic, sometimes brilliant. Rated: 4/5 Dec 27, 2016 Full Review Michael J. Casey Michael J. Cinema An adventure into the heart of darkness that is as prophetic as it is hallucinatory. Rated: 3.5/5 Aug 9, 2021 Full Review Toussaint Egan Polygon A powerful and poetic portrait of the effects of European colonialism and environmental despoilment. Feb 25, 2021 Full Review Dennis Harvey 48 Hills ...a hallucinogenic Amazonian odyssey... Oct 28, 2020 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (177) audience reviews
Benjamin T Anyone who likes a decent adventure drama about the Amazon should watch this. I loved the acting, dialogues and how everything unfolded from one moment to another. It was a simple, straight-forward film with a decent plot and direction, unlike the typical BS out there (Barbie, Everything Everywhere All at Once, etc.) Rated 5 out of 5 stars 08/10/23 Full Review Kit N Phenomenal film from start to finish. Feels classic and refreshingly original at the same time. Impeccable cinematography and visually arresting scenes throughout. Simply a 'must-see' for anyone into cinema at its finest, or indeed, anyone with a universal appreciation for nature in their heart. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 06/23/23 Full Review isla s This is a somewhat engrossing watch - its slow moving, plot wise and yet there's a definite hypnotic sense to it. Its in black and white and with constant jungle/rainforest noises in the background, the sounds of insects, birds and so on. I liked seeing how the various tribes people communicated with one another - who they trusted and who they didn't. I suppose, to me, it felt like the main theme was isolation, that, false Prophets and self reflection. I suppose, in a sense, it makes us think about how we deal with or view outsiders perhaps? certainly the sense of being a fish out of water is present in this film. There's also definitely a philosophical edge to it, with some interesting, reflective type dialogue present. I thought it looked, visually, quite artistic, mystical even, with it being in black and white and I suppose that also gives it a timeless feel (Giving the setting of the film, its inevitably hard to tell when it was set). There is an unsettling, creepy feel to it at times too, with chanting heard in the distance - I wished for a little more visibility, colour to appear at such times. Its definitely a mysterious film in some such ways. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member A unique and astonishing film that has to be seen. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/11/23 Full Review Audience Member Interweaving two different time scales, Ciro Guerra's sprawling epic focuses on an amazonian shaman who travels the river with two different german ethnologists, forty years apart as they search for the sacred Yakruna plant. Beautifully shot, the film takes you on a journey of discovery as well as one through the rainforest, as we see the full effects of dangers we wouldn't normally consider in our world; the ravages wrought by the rubber trade, or the damaging effects of brainwashed Christian brother clans deep in the heart of the jungle. A beautiful film. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/29/23 Full Review Audience Member Quiero expresar que no soy un perro para ver un filme solo en gris, también estoy inconforme porque en ninguna parte la serpiente abraza a alguien. Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 01/24/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Embrace of the Serpent

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Cast & Crew

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Movie Info

Synopsis In the early 1900s, a young shaman in the Colombian Amazon helps a sick German explorer and his local guide search for a rare healing plant.
Director
Ciro Guerra
Producer
Cristina Gallego
Screenwriter
Ciro Guerra, Jacques Toulemonde Vidal
Distributor
Oscilloscope Pictures
Production Co
Buffalo Film Co., Caracol Televisión
Genre
Adventure, History, Drama
Original Language
Spanish
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 17, 2016, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Oct 6, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$1.3M
Runtime
2h 3m
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