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‘Yanuni’ Review: A Thrilling, Romantic Documentary About Brazil’s Fight for Indigenous Land
In the Leonardo DiCaprio-produced eco doc 'Yanuni,' Richard Ladkani’s lens doesn’t just capture the Amazonian landscape, but also embodies its poetry.
Even fewer blend political thrills with meditative visual poetry, but Austrian director Richard Ladkani strikes this balance with an even hand in his intimate chronicle of Juma Xiapaia, a brave Indigenous activist in Brazil and the first woman elected chief in the Amazon’s Middle Xingu region. The 2022 defeat of President Jair Bolsonaro, plus the election of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, yield nominal victories for Indigenous folks, including the appointment of Juma to a newly created position, which feels like a near and natural conclusion to “Yanuni.” However, the story is just getting started. And unlike war films where a soldier’s wife sits diligently at home, waiting for his return, Juma is seen leading vital battles of her own on the legislative front lines, in a tale of political disillusionment that forces her to pave a brand new path.
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