Wetiko

Incredible to look at movie that takes you to another world and has the kind of authenticity cinema rarely achieves. Main character Aapo hops on a motorbike and heads into the Yucatán jungle after being enticed by the alluring charms of a sensual Mayan woman who approaches him at his mother's pet shop. The woman has come looking for special toads which secrete a hallucinogen sought after by hipster, faux backpacker types out to expand their spiritual horizons. As Aapo is a novice toad handler the captivating woman hires him to come to a retreat in the jungle overseen by a New Age shaman charlatan who it turns out is running a scam to get land cheap for redevelopment from the indigenous people living in the village. A feeling of menace slowly builds... The movie is masterfully done.

This is an unusual indie art film that is worth checking out for several reasons. Its theme is the cultural appropriation of indigenous spirituality and lifeways and it skewers the cult-like spiritual corruption involved. The mythopoetic storytelling seems to ring unusually true to the ways indigenous folk often pass on spiritual knowledge. It is an often visually beautiful film with accomplished actors breathing life into a kind of story that is seldom told on screen. This is the second feature film released by director Kerry Mondragon, who has his own voice and visual style that is quite interesting. The story itself is the harrowing spiritual odyssey of a young Maya man navigating through hazards to body and soul, something many viewers may recognize from their own life.