Embrace of the Serpent
Seen it?2015 | 125 min | Drama, Adventure
Sunday Safe BetWhy it’s a Sunday Safe Bet
Critics loved it (96% on Rotten Tomatoes), though it had a box office loss and little lasting buzz. A safe bet when you want something reliable.
Based on critics, audiences, awards, box office and buzz. Details below.Is it for you?
- Who'll love it
- Made for adventure fans. If you loved The Mission or Rush, start here. Critics rate it higher than audiences do, so it rewards patience more than it chases thrills.
- The mood
- Exciting.
- The pace
- Takes its time with its characters, at 2 hr 5 min.
- What might put you off
- It's in Spanish, so expect subtitles (or a dub).
- Audiences were cooler on it than critics.
The epic story of the first contact, encounter, approach, betrayal and, eventually, life-transcending friendship, between Karamakate, an Amazonian shaman, last survivor of his people, and two scientists that, over the course of 40 years, travel through the Amazon in search of a sacred plant that can heal them. Inspired by the journals of the first explorers of the Colombian Amazon, Theodor Koch-Grunberg and Richard Evans Schultes.
How it earned its rating
- CriticsVery strong
96% on Rotten Tomatoes, 82 on Metacritic
- AudiencesSolid
7.7 out of 10
- AwardsSolid
Won 1 Cannes award: Cannes Film Festival: Best International Film (Foreign Language). Also nominated for 1 Oscar and 1 Independent Spirit Award. Plus 10 other awards.
- Box office & staying powerBelow par
$1 million worldwide on a $1 million budget
- Buzz & cultural impactBelow par
About 44K people sought it out in the past year
Trailer
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Cast & crew
Directed by Ciro Guerra
- Nilbio TorresKaramakate (Young)
- Antonio BolívarKaramakate (Old)
- Jan BijvoetTheodor Koch-Grunberg
- Brionne DavisRichard Evans Schultes
- Yauenkü MigueeManduca
- Luigi SciamannaThe Missionary
- Nicolás CancinoThe Messiah
- Pediwake Daniel MartínezSantiago
- José SabogalThe Rubber Trapper