The first few scenes of Pia Marais’ haunting fourth feature, Transamazonia, plays out like a silent film. A young white girl lies bloodied in a foggy rainforest. She is discovered by an indigenous Amazonian and carried to a place where she can be found by authorities. She is the sole survivor of a plane crash and is taken to a hospital and, with the media vulturing about, reunited with her father. Or is he?
The narrative then jumps nearly a decade and the young woman, Rebecca (News of the World breakout Helena Zengel, in a remarkable performance) is now a celebrated faith healer who seemingly performs miracles. She is managed by her ambitious, missionary father Lawrence (Jeremy Xido) in a land fraught with tension and potential violence. Illegal loggers have invaded the land, and the local indigenous tribe begin a protest that leads to a stalemate. Lawrence thinks he has a way to get rid of the loggers, which involves Rebecca healing the comatose wife of one of the sawmill owners (Rômulo Braga).
Alas, people don’t always keep their word, even when miracles are involved.
Marais’ film is captivating and, often, majestic but a definite slow-burn that might test the patience of some filmgoers. The film truly comes alive in the final reel when Rebecca aligns herself with the tribe.
The South-African-born director spent six years working on Transamazonia and the film’s political weight cannot be denied as it takes on themes of global warming, capitalism and colonialism. It’s also rare to see a film about spirituality and faith healing that isn’t severely undercut by the exposing of charlatans.
There is much ambiguity here and that is a refreshing treat.
