The Territory (2022) ⭐ 7.5 | Documentary

Originally premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival and is the World Cinema Documentary Competition selection. I originally got tickets for this screening back at the festival but I got to busy at the end of the day to watch this so I skipped it. After finding another festival that had this online, I gave it a second shot.

This is a documentary about a land dispute between Brazilian farmers and the indigenous community. Where the farmers are trying to seize a protected area of the Amazon rainforest. There, a young Indigenous leader and his mentor must fight back in defense of the land and an uncontacted group living deep within the forest. It is very well shot throughout of the documentary and because of the presentation, it really felt more like a cinematic experience then an actual documentary. Some of the best points are that they got to listen both sides without being one sided and allowing interesting conversations to be in play. There are some really terrifying and frustrating moments that helped to make the realism of the situation feel relevant and consistent.

Some problems are the pacing as it did drag a little at times in the second act.

The documentary is 80 something minutes long but it did feel a little more then 80s minutes at times. The musical soundtrack does feels a little cheesy at times but it didn't ruin the whole experience for me. Besides these small gripes, it's a pretty good documentary about the deforestation and problems in the Brazilian world and it's a must watch at least once in a lifetime.

Rating: B.

• Bleu-Le-Fluff-0969
• Apr 20, 2022
• Permalink