Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale

After receiving both the original book and passes to the film I was pleased to see the ever lasting effect a year with natives in Peru can have on a person. It is one thing to be actually in that moment and appreciate what a life changing event is taking place, but it is another to actually continue to live with the effects that it can have on you for decades to come. Perhaps it is a curse to actually become another person with a totally different identy only to return to a world that could never understand your actions and motives while in the moment, but I beleve that Tobias understood the life-long effect that it would have on him, both positive and negative.

Tobias came across, in the book as well as the film, as a man who was longing for something that he didn't quite know what. And until his return 45 years after leaving the tribe I didn't sense any closure on his part for the "family" that he left behind. The "civilized" world's inability to comprehend his actions while there only added to this sense of an unfinished chapter in the original book. The film alone is a beautiful story about a man coming to terms with himself and his enviroment, but with Tobias' book it is a complete journey into one man's quest to find himself. Read the book first to fully appreciate a stunning film.

I read Schneebaum's book (same title as this film) when it was first published and was deeply moved by his ability to see through the many ways of "otherness" (his own and the people of the Amazon with whom he lived and loved) to a way of living a decent life. His subsequent books were not as powerful, but showed his continuing quest. His description of his sexual relations with the men of the tribe was way ahead of its time in the early 60's, but his honesty and openness about it were welcome. This movie beautifully conveys both the quirkiness and generosity of the man, but also provides a glimpse into the inevitable destruction of innocence (which is not a morally positive term, in this case) that occurs when "civilized" men intrude on traditional societies. Even so, Schneebaum himself has moved into a kind of higher innocence that suggests the possibility of saving humanity from its own destructiveness.

I saw this film at Amsterdam's International Documentary Film Festival and was privileged to meet both the directors and Tobias Schneebaum, all of whom are lively and outspoken New Yorkers. The film's title in Amsterdam was Keep the River on Your Right, making the sensational aspect of cannibalism somewhat less prominent. Equally important was the loving - and gay - relationship Tobias Schneebaum had with members of the groups he studied as an anthropologist. His reunion at nearly 80 years of age and inevitable leave-taking were very moving. I can only highly recommend this film to anyone looking for a moving story that is anything but pedestrian.

As so many that come across this film, I was intrigued with the subtitle "A Modern Cannibal Tale." Unlike a lot of those who write their reviews angered that cannibalism is not the primary focus of the documentary, I was still enthralled. "Keep the River On Your Right" is not unlike the inspirational journeys of "The Human Experience" or even "Into the Wild." That the doc follows the man who lived these experiences decades later as he revisits the primitive locales only further underlines the profound impacts his travels had on his life and makes the contrast even more stark.

If you're a teenager expecting a snuff film, then yes, you will be disappointed. Even more so if you're inclined to turn your nose up at homosexuality or same-sex relationships. You'll be disappointed and most likely you will write your scathing review on Netflix or IMDb about how you have no interest in watching a movie about an "old gay guy." Those that are open enough to listen to Tobias Schneebaum's recollections and personal discoveries will find themselves pondering whether current society or the primitive savages are more barabaric in existence and practices. Much can be learned about ourselves if we take the opportunity to learn from those different from us. That theory proved true for Schneebaum in his travels. Give the film a chance with a corrected idea of what to expect going in and it will prove true for you as well.

I first heard of this documentary from an ethics professor in undergrad in 2005, although she mistakenly said that the subject was a man from Germany. Anyway, I've finally gotten around to seeing "Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale". Basically, it's about how the protagonist, having only known the structured world of the US, ventured to these isolated villages in Peru and Papua New Guinea and found that he identified with them more than with life in the US.

The documentary won't be for everyone. In addition to the shocking title, some of the practices in the villages will be shocking for us in the west. But if you can keep an open mind, then this documentary will be one of the most refreshing and edifying works that you've ever seen. It's enough to make you want to visit the villages (but make sure to let the people there live their original way of life).