A Última Floresta

Honestly, I couldn't finish it.

I watched the first few minutes of footage of the men and a family and then the tribesmen running off 3 white men gold prospectors.

I expected to see their clothing to be minimal, as their customs have bead works and body paint.

It just bothered me immensely that this dramatized documentary seemingly had probably altered their dress to give them a voice. Seeing these tribesmen in modern day basketball shorts. And yet, the women wore only beads and bands of cloth..... Did the filmmakers change their customary clothing (or lack there or) for our view on modesty? It just immediately & jarringly made me feel 'this feels wrong'.

A much needed documentary. The photography is insane, Pedro did a wonderful job. And I was amazed at the folklore tales, narrated and played by the natives themselves. I can't see anything that faults it, it's raw, it's pleasant, it's humanity at it's best and at it's worst.

After finding Under the Concrete (2020-also reviewed) to be an intriguing feature film debut by Roy Arida,I was excited to enter the forest and catch the third,and final title in the 2021 WOW Film Festival features line-up.

View on the film:

Going deep into the heart of the Yanomami community in the Amazon rainforest on the border between Venezuela and Brazil, director Luiz Bolognesi & cinematographer Pedro J. Marquez wise decision to not have an English language narration, allows for a rich, immerse atmosphere to grow, via Bolognesi's delicate, spectacular tracking shots and striking close-ups in natural light, capturing the untouched by industrialization balance of the practical daily routines, and the deep spiritualism that the Yanomami's hold dear.

Treating the beliefs of the Yanomami's with respect, Bolognesi inter-cuts the daily lives documentary footage with shimmering re-enactments, as the tribes-people play themselves in excellent sequences which dramatizes the mythology that they live their lives by.

Detailing during the end credits the horrific mistreatment and murder that have been committed by prospectors in recent years, Bolognesi fills the screen with the passionate voices of the Yanomami's , who detail the distraction which the brutal outsiders have brought with them,as the Yanomami fight to save the last forest.

No narration, just Yanomami indigenous people vibing in the forest telling us how they lived peacefully before the gold prospectors came along and put their entire existence at risk.

Powerful, devastating, beautifully shot, important, and yet another sad reminder that capitalism & colonialism destroys everything.

Sadly documentaries on tribes (that are still around) don't seem to get much attention anymore. Most people see the photo and think "Eh, tribal people. Sounds boring!" But you would be wrong.

You are missing out. There is no narrator. No non-tribe people (well aside from the people filming). Just the tribe showing us how they live. And more importantly how modern man is killing them off but figuratively and literally at times.

Their lifestlye is well... tribal. But its almost peaceful and calm compared to how most people live today. It's ashame gold diggers and others get onto their land and put them at risk. Some from causing mercury to poisoning their waters from gold digging. Others literally trying to hurt them because they just want their land.

To note for those who all worried about "Is this some bashing you over the head thing about nature?" Well it is an issue of course, but this documentary is about more then that. It's about the tribes. Deforestation is another issue that affects them greatly.

I'm glad I checked this out. There's nothing really offensive in this for you to worry about. Unless your against nudity. But this isn't nudity as we see it today. This is just a tribe being a tribe. Remember, we modern people are the ones who see butts, breasts, genital's as sexual things that need to be covered up.

Seeing there are only five reviews for this makes me sad. I hope it get more exposure.