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[HanCinema's Film Review] "Tears of the Amazon"

In the United States there's an old joke about how the very first form of titillating visuals for youngsters are National Geographic magazines. Though educational in nature, and thus freely offered by parents, National Geographic magazines feature a large number of nude photos, albeit of tribespeople in faroff locations who don't tend to wear clothing. I suspect that "Tears of the Amazon" trends intermittently on HanCinema for similar reasons- although much like National Geographic, there's certainly plenty of educational value here.

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Originally filmed as a television documentary, "Tears of the Amazon" was repackaged in the theatrical format. As far as I can tell the main thing lost in the transition was the movie's ecological message as well as references to the movie's South Korean crew, who had to interact with the tribes they ran into socially to get permission to film. In the theatrical cut, only a few brief late scenes hint at these themes, where we see a raging fire and various clothed persons hunting the Amazon's giant fish.

What remains is mostly just day-to-day anthropological study of the tribes. Lip plates are both prominent and explained. They're a source of personal identity for the relevant tribe, which has similar ritual garments in the form of little decorations around the penis. Women lack such decorations, but do tend to evoke a similar effect by always pushing into their crotch with their feet as part of a natural sitting motion.

Polygamy and polyamory both are discussed in the casual tribal context. Interestingly, the practices themselves also seem to be debated in the relevant communities. Even if the first family we see has three women, a later man claims that one woman is enough for him to love. There's also a fairly elaborate ritual wherein women attack teasing men in a large hut, a sort of vengeance against them for being far too lazy while they do all the real work.

We mostly just see these cultural practices in action rather than have them explained, which at times can be annoying. At one point some villagers are getting hyped for an informal wrestling competition. They appear to be wrestling in the traditional Korean style, or at least something close to it, and wear underwear while doing so. It's unclear whether documentary crew taught them how to do this particular form of wrestling, though we do see them participating in the late post-takes that allow us to see the actual documentary crew.

I imagine a lot of the gaps in "Tears of the Amazon" are probably more completely covered in the full documentary. Whatever the source of the wrestling tournament, it's pretty clear everyone's having a good time. And it's honestly nice to see tribespeople having fun, even over such morbid activities as capturing and skinning an armadillo. I mean let's just face it. That's the reality of eating meat. The Amazonian tribespeople just have a more direct connection with the practice is all. Nude or not, their lives are quite different from our own, yet played with a charming banality.

Review by William Schwartz

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"Tears of the Amazon" is directed by Kim Hyeon-cheol, Kim Jin-man-I, and narrated by Kim Nam-gil. Release date in Korea: 2010/03/25.

 

How to Watch


DVD
(TW - English Subtitled)

DVD HK
(English Subtitled)

Blu-ray
(English Subtitled)

DVD
First Press Limited Edition
(No En Sub)

 

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