‘The Buriti Flower’ Review: Indigenous Brazilians Seize Control of Their Story In a Striking Hybrid Documentary
variety.comGuy Lodge Film Critic In their 2018 film “The Dead and the Others,” directors João Salaviza et Renée Nader Messora turned their lens generously to the Krahô people of northeast Brazil, documenting a longstanding way of life under threat from developers and politicians, and giving their non-professional subjects ample leeway for improvisation in presenting themselves on screen.
Their ambitious, formally limber follow-up “The Buriti Flower” resumes their study of the Krahô, but with an expanded scope, as it examines ideological and generational conflict within the tribe: protectively insular tradition on one side, outward-facing activism on the other.
Blending candid vérité with extravagant flourishes of fiction, the film sees its helmers sharing screenwriting duties with a trio of Krahô locals, and feels more textured for their collaboration.
Like its predecessor, Salaviza and Nader Messora’s latest was handed a special jury award in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section — an “ensemble” prize, but somewhat eccentrically designated for the film’s entire cast and crew.
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