At the end of the day, we are all on our own journey. Whether that journey takes us to far exotic places or is the daily journey of living within one selected space of this planet from birth to death, orbiting around the same people and conversations within the culture that suckled us as babes and will weep at our funeral. In the end, the journey is the same. It is the journey of our souls navigating the waters, making choices that can change the world around us in ways we never fully understand.

We live with and ultimately die with the choices we make on this journey. Unfortunately, we are often not as noble in our actions as we would like to believe. Our frail selves sometimes are caught shuddering in the cold reality of mistakes we cannot fix. If we are lucky we may have a chance to change ourselves and, if possible, the web of consequences that we unknowingly produced from our ignorance and pride.

Embrace of the Serpent IMDB Trailer

To me, this is what the movie “Embrace Of The Serpent” is about. The journey of a few souls from different cultures who now travel together in search of a cure. Ultimately, they move through their regret, pain, prejudice, mistakes, fears, lies, and anger. They face their raw humanity.

Yes, there is a bigger picture, there always is, and yes, their landscape is within the harsh realities of the rainforest jungle. A place scarred with the violence of colonialism and the horrors of exploitation. Around them the world is at war, the rubber barons have made slaves of the people, and religion has festered into insanity. Still the story is about a couple of souls, a few choices, a journey that spans over two lifetimes that becomes a rare chance for the individuals to both find redemption and embrace reverence.

I wanted to share this beautiful film as one of my favorites in a time when I feel fragile and a bit frightened. When my own humanity and that of those around me has been put under the spotlight of our limited mortality. It is a reminder that we are all part of a larger story but in order for us to right the wrongs of the world we must learn to dream and become whole again.

In the final words of the shaman Karamakate at the end of the film, “Give them more than what they asked for. Give them a song. Tell them everything you see… Everything you feel. Come back a whole man.”

If you have a chance, it’s a film worth watching.

Terri