watch

Embrace of the Serpent (Ciro Guerra) Nilbio Torres, Antonio Bolivar, Jan Bijvoet. 2015

Guerra’s Amazonian odyssey chronicles two separate trips up a majestic, mysterious river thus channelling Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now. His masterly film is no doe-eyed tribute act however, and very early on he gives Embrace its own distinct personality. The voyages in question take place decades apart but run concurrently throughout the film and the separate narratives ensnare the viewer with equal mystique. In the early 1900’s an ailing German explorer seeks out the help of a fiercely traditional, proud shaman named Karamakate to guide him upstream in search of the natural medicine he hopes will cure him. Some thirty years later an American botanist following the German man’s path in a sort of spiritual voyage encounters the same, now aging shaman and asks him to help complete the journey his predecessor never quite could. Both men are in search of the rare yakruna plant but possible ulterior motives are hinted at particularly in the latter episode. Karamakate’s mistrust of the white man and of civilization in general has been sown by years of grotesque mistreatment of his land and his people at the hands of colonialism. The devastating impact rubber barons, armed forces and the catholic church had on the Amazon and its first people is given brutal voice by Guera’s beguiling film. Shot in black and white and on location, Embrace is as beautiful to look at as it is troubling to think about. 4.5/5

stream@: https://play.stan.com.au/programs/1383977

Dog eat Dog (Carlos Moreno) Marlon Moreno, Oscar Borda, Blas Jaramillo. 2008. Carlos Moreno’s feral debut received little love from critics or audiences upon its release but his savage gangster flick packs a cult sensibility. The film pulls off the rare trick of giving audiences not a single character worth caring a damn about while keeping us riveted right up until the final dirt nap. Victor (Marlon Moreno) is a low rent crim who jumps on the chance of stealing a small fortune from his deranged mafia boss, a low percentage move if ever there was one. Consequentially he finds himself holed up in a hellish flophouse under the pretence of preparing for a big job as the noose tightens. His roommate for the duration is Eusebio, a fellow lackey who has also run afoul of the don. Side by side they battle paranoia, the constrictor like grip of their employers, black magic and each other. The performances range from Moreno’s study in coiled tension to Jaramillo’s absurdly over the top turn as El Orejon, the big boss. The movie is loose, ramshackle and freewheeling and no less enjoyable for it. 3.5/5

stream@:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uYtIb2c4yH0

Pickpockets (Peter Webber) Carlos Bardem, Carlos Humberto Camacho, Ulises Gonzalez. 2018

Not unlike a pocketbook lifting petty thief on the mean streets of Bogota, a film maker should display a steady hand, focused vision and good judgement. British director Webber proves he has the chops to pull off a functional quick score without ever suggesting his movie might actually be that big time final payday that every hood dreams of. In fairness to him, tackling a Colombian script and shooting on location entirely in Spanish is an ambitious enough move. But like so much Netflix original content, Pickpockets has few aspirations other than keeping its impressionable target audience switched on for an hour and a half. Screenwriters Alejandro Fadel and Martin Mauregui aim for gritty realism and for the most part deliver despite a by-the-numbers plot involving young thieves taken under the wing of a veteran master pickpocket. Played by Bardem (brother of Javier!) Chucho is a Spaniard stranded in Colombia for reasons that make little to no sense. In young tyro’s Fresh and Doggy he sees a pair of able bodied if unsophisticated proteges whose graft might just be his ticket home. The movie checks in at all the sign posted tropes of the growing up on the streets flick without ever investing its audience emotionally. It’s functional and entertaining enough and pretty forgettable. 2/5

stream@:
https://www.netflix.com/search?q=pickpockets&jbv=80133153&jbp=0&jbr=0

listen

La-33: 2004-2013

Formed in Bogota at the turn of the century La:33 are a fourteen strong salsa collective whose steady output for a decade provides latecomers with a glorious back catalog to plough through. The group’s spectacular self-titled debut album is probably still their apex, a water-tight ten track explosion of sound sans filler. Following three years of touring Colombia performing constantly for not much financial reward La:33 the album provided a catalyst for stability amongst the group’s massed ranks. And what a welcome addition they offer to the Latin American music scene. Highlights are surely openers Gozalo con and La soledad which is not to say the album lags at any point. Hell, even the pink panther sampling “La pantera mambo” manages to avoid grating on the listeners’ nerves. Throughout, the group’s frenetic horn section propel the album from chorus to chorus as front man David Cantillo’s jet-fuelled ramblings play cat and mouse with his backing vocalists. Most recent single “Patacon con Queso” proves the guys have lost little of their flair in the intertwining years. Highly recommended.

La-33’s albums are available to download on Spotify.

read

Chronicle of a death foretold, Gabriel Garcia Marquez. 1982

“On the day they were going to kill him, Santiago Nasar got up at five-thirty in the morning to wait for the boat the bishop was coming on.”   Thus begins Garcia Marquez’ enchanting short novel so rich in detail and insight. Chronicle’s one hundred and twenty-two pages are dripping with the wit, irony and intrigue of a master story teller. Narrated by an unnamed friend of the eventual deceased, the novel is a non linear account of a brutal honour killing that took place decades earlier in a small coastal Colombian village. Our learned guide pieces together events in an attempt to make sense of the senseless. Whodunit is never in doubt, quite why they did it, why they weren’t stopped and whether their actions are at all excusable in the circumstances are the core questions. Despite the tragic, forewarned centrepiece of the story, Chronicles never employs a somber tone. Marquez gives us all his characters’ deeds and misdeeds in lucid detail but judges none of them, offering no heroes or villains, just a variety of complex contributors in his grand but brief experiment. His powers of description are as sharp as ever, a stranger arrives in town “around thirty years old but they were well concealed because he had the waist of a novice bullfighter, golden eyes, and skin roasted by saltpeter” whilst in the aftermath of murder, the killers find themselves “floating in the dazzling backwater they had found on the other side of fear”. Chronicle is perhaps not one of Gabo’s most celebrated novels but it’s certainly one of his most satisfying.

eat and drink

Exotic Latin, 284 King St Newtown.

Nicely outfitted restaurant which covers a variety of South and Central American cuisine. Colombian specialties (and waiters) make it an obvious choice for this month’s entry. Bandeja and Ejecutivo Paisa offer a similar experience: food group traversing platters which feel thrown together and authentic at the same time. Perhaps their hodgepodge nature is a reflection of traditional Colombian peasant food, in the style of making the most of what is available to you. In truth, though while nicely presented and certainly generously portioned, the fare is a touch bland. Could use a few spices here and there, and while the crispy pork belly very much presents itself as the center-piece of the Bandeja, it’s as dry as the Tatacoa on this occasion at least. Don’t hesitate to partake in a Lulo Ardiente, cocktail made from Colombia’s native lulo citrus fruit and triple sec liqueur. Light and refreshing, you’ll taste the alcohol without stumbling out of there. If that is actually your preference knock back a few Club Columbia beers afterward! Latin Exotik has a colorful, welcoming vibe and in the evenings has been known to host live latin music. It’s a low key spot with enough to offer to warrant a return visit.

goal of the month

Duvan Zapata shows pace, awareness and a rifle right foot to complete Atalanta’s rout of Bergamo and score his twentieth of the season.