Archive and Authenticity: Cinematic Tourism in El abrazo de la serpiente (2015) by Ciro Guerra

Abstract

The film El abrazo de la serpiente (2015) by Colombian director Ciro Guerra has been praised for its decolonial and ecological aesthetics. In this article I problematize these readings by arguing that the film, through its references to the archive of Amazonian photography and writing, works to satisfy touristic desires for contact with an ‘authentic’ Other, expressed most clearly in the indigenous shaman character, Karamakate. The film’s touristic aesthetic culminates in the final scenes, in which Karamakate bestows his shamanic knowledge on a white traveller character. This act not only heightens the sense of profound contact with the Other but also constructs a fantasy of reconciliation with indigenous peoples over the violence of colonialism. In this way, the film attempts to assuage guilt over colonial wrongdoings while doing little to model new and better ways of relating with indigenous peoples.