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For this Sunday Kino Night, first up is Embrace of the Serpent (2015), a Colombian drama set in the Amazon, and following an indigenous shaman’s meetings with two explorers, one in 1909, and another in 1940. Both seek his aid in finding a rare plant, and they set down the river so he can show them the way, encountering the destructive effects of colonialism along the way. Reviews generally compare this one to Werner Herzog’s similarly-themed films Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972) and Fitzcarraldo (1982). This is the best-known and best-regarded work to date of director Ciro Guerra; it is currently ranked #268 on the Letterboxd Top 500.

BONUS: Between the features, we will watch Buster Keaton 19-minute comic short The High Sign (1921), in which he gets a job at a carnival run by mobsters, who order him to kill a businessman. He turns the tables on the crooks by instead protecting the man using various traps he sets inside his house. Pretty much a 1920s version of Home Alone (1990). This is considered one of Keaton’s better shorts.

After that is Design for Living (1933), a screwball romantic comedy about a successful female artist (Miriam Hopkins) must decide between two suitors who compete for her affections, one a painter, and one a playwright. Wait, they ask, why don’t all three of them just live together? A 1930s polycule ensues, pushing the boundaries of acceptability at the time. Will they return to monogamy in the end? I guess we’ll find out. Director is Ernst Lubitsch, the guy behind many classic Hollywood comedies, such as Trouble in Paradise (1932) and The Shop Around the Corner (1940), both of which we previously watched. This is considered one of the best comedies of the 1930s, so we’ll give it a shot. We’ll start at 8PM EST on Blorptube, right here:

https://blorp.bot.nu/o/visual_cuisine

Be there, comrades!

Letterboxd:

• Embrace of the Serpent: https://letterboxd.com/film/embrace-of-the-serpent/
• The High Sign: https://letterboxd.com/film/the-high-sign/
• Design for Living: https://letterboxd.com/film/design-for-living/

Doesthedogdie.com links:

• Embrace of the Serpent: https://www.doesthedogdie.com/media/65116
• Design for Living: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0023940/parentalguide/

CWs for Embrace of the Serpent:

• Animal corpses.
• Implied pedophilia.
• Child abuse.
• Whipping.
• Drug use.
• Carnism.
• Cruelty to animals.
• Bugs.
• Snakes.
• Death of parent.
• Vomit.
• Spitting.
• Eye mutilation.
• Hate speech.
• Racism toward indigenous people.
• Blood and gore.
• Gun violence.
• Colonialism.
• Torture.
• Seizure.

CWs for Design for Living:

• Implied sex.
• Alcohol.
• Drunkenness.
• Misogyny.
• Cheating.

Links to movies:

• Embrace of the Serpent: https://tankie.tube/w/e111FLvVPK8PPfnasUMhho
• The High Sign: https://tankie.tube/w/hxjgEXyg8rjxHeJUvHfrhH
• Design for Living: https://tankie.tube/w/pu7GDsFxL3DqF1wjqgAv8v