Independent Film Festival Boston 2009

In Brazil, indigenous people called the Guarani-Kaiowà live in poverty on small, rural reservations. No longer allowed to hunt or farm their ancestral lands, the Kaiowà struggle to find food amid hostile encounters with wealthy landowners and their employees. But after the recent recurrence of a startling, tragic event, one defiant group of Kaiowà decides leave the reservation to reclaim their ancestral home—which just happens to be on the farmland of a wealthy plantation owner. As the standoff between the unmovable—and growing—group of Kaiowà and the flummoxed landowner escalates, an attraction also develops between the landowner’s daughter and a young Kaiowà man who has the ability to feel spirits and foresee the future.

This brilliantly directed film explores the plight of indigenous peoples without resorting to preachy morality. In place of Hollywood clichés, award-winning director Marco Bechis gives us complex, even flawed characters of unforgettable depth. The interactions between the Kaiowà and the landowner even give rise to unexpected comedy, as the Kaiowà deceive, mock, and play tricks on their perplexed oppressors. This playfulness and humor amid a climate of suffocating subjugation provides more than simple comic relief—it reveals both a powerful tactic for rebellion and a vital component of the struggle for survival.

- Kristina Aikens