A priest goes native, then gets burned by both sides. Colonialism's worst internship.
In 16th-century Spanish America, a Dominican friar named Santiago survives a brutal expedition and is absorbed into a Carib tribe. When he flees tribal conflict only to be captured by Spanish forces accused of heresy, he is forced to confront the clash between his ideals and the violence of conquest.
Cinematography
Lush Venezuelan locations that make colonialism look almost beautiful.
Acting
Cortázar's wide-eyed priest slowly losing his reference points.
Production
Surprisingly authentic Carib village built for a film nobody saw.
Director
Luis Alberto Lamata
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
One of few films to center Carib perspectives rather than erase them; shot with indigenous community participation in Venezuela.
Reggie Nalder, the German conqueror, played the assassin in Hitchcock's 'The Man Who Knew Too Much'—35 years of playing unsettling Europeans.
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