Ayahuasca Meets the Old West
It seems that the cinema is capable of capturing and doing justice to some of the visual brilliance of an altered state of consciousness, even one as strange and mystical as ayahuasca. Jan Kounen's film, Renegade, a spaghetti western set alongside the culture of ayahuasca shamanism, is based on a comic book by the famous visionary artist Moebius. The movie features several ayahuasca ceremonies that are deeply moving and tremendously well conceived.
The French filmaker's spiritually dazzling works include an ayahuasca documentary called Other Worlds, and a series of one-hour television documentaries on shamanism called Another Reality.
In this wonderful interview, Kounen talks candidly about "his work with the shamans of South America, the plant medicine ayahuasca, the difficulties of bringing the other world onto the screen — as well as the altered state of contemporary media itself. "
Tweet- 12-20-07
- Adam Elenbaas's blog
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agreed
I completely, completely agree with you about the film "Dead Man." What a great flick. But I don't think it's a fair comparison, since we can't create an imaginary, objective standard that two totally different pieces of art are trying to achieve simultaneously.
Dead man was slow, silly, and often sensational for me. It was poignant and moving, too. I like Renegade for different reasons.
I think Renegade is cool because its an action movie (lots of people like a good action flick), and it's combining an element of shamanism into an already fun plot.
The visual representations in the film are stellar, representing both the light and dark side of an Ayahuasca ceremony, with Icaros, with a shaman who surrounds himself inside a protected visionary mesa, etc.
The deeper I've gone into darkness in ceremonies the more suffocating the experiences have turned out (especially visually).
I also especially like the symbolism in Renegade and how hyperstylised it is. It's like Clint Eastwood meets Ayahuasca, and I think that's just a total hoot.
It's imaginative, and it's a cool, fantastical way of introducing many audiences to plant medicine.
I ESPECIALLY love the way that Kounen plays with protagonist/antagonist IN the ceremonies, blurring and blending bad guy and good guy with one another, trading places, etc.
The film is about the healing of a bad guy, good guy schism both externally and internally.
I also don't see it as a naive representation of shamanism. Having worked now for three years with indigenous Peruvian shamans in the jungle, I didn't have any problem with the representation. I found nothing overtly disrepsectful or too sensational.
I find it to be the most convincing visual representation I've seen in film. Plus the film is just stinkin fun! And by the way, since when does ECO have anything against the cliche of an antagonist?!?!?! ;-) jk
peace
Adam Elenbaas
I thought the visuals were