The Last Shaman (2016) Reviews

• The tenuous rhubarb

  kristianskylstad2017-11-17

  First I want to say; I really wanted and needed to hate this movie. The scenario of a depressed American going to Peru to "find himself" through the dubious ritual of ayahuasca is suspicious to say the least. The whole premise of the movie is close to the core of birdbrained projects like Eat Pray Love or the newfound reality TV concepts where spoiled brats from Britain starts to appreciate the conform reality of their native country, through the wisdom of appreciation one might feel witnessing a harsher reality. So the premise is quite dull. The result is not only strong, it's also extremely necessary, its essence is reaching for the core of the problem of being young today. The hero of the movie has no capacity to speak of. He's almost unable to communicate at all. This is annoying to begin with, but after very few scenes, being critical to his approach becomes almost impossible. Why? Because it would render you inhuman. He's not talking to your normality. He's talking to your empathy. Testing it. Though the hero, who essentially is an antagonist, couldn't care less what you think. Not because he's self centered, as you might perceive him to be, but because he's standing on the edge of life. He's staring into the abyss. As he drowsily wanders through the markets of Peru, the sleepwalker that he is appears, forcing you to realize how vulnerable he is. You want to shake him like his father once did, shake him out of it, though you know this is impossible. Does he want to save himself? Does he want to live? This is not the question that the filmmakers or James Freeman asks. They are asking the question if it's possible to live outside the premises of the sickness of modern society without becoming sick yourself. This is a simple but deep question, an honorable challenge. They execute this with great elegance and pragmatism, with a cold warmth that slowly seeps into your consciousness. This is a small movie. An unimportant movie. You can only understand how grand it is, how extremely important it is, if you take the conclusion to heart. Are birds free from the chains of the skyway? We don't need to be anyone. Our only obligation to ourselves is to be. James Freeman is a free man. Freedom is the hardest aspect of existence. He's dealing with the challenges that Antoine Roquentin faces in Nausea. Maybe accidentally stumbles into the most complex questions of contemporary reality. This is not a movie for the shallow minded, or for movie geeks, or people who's watching movies because of their artistic preferences. This is a movie for the faint hearted. It'll help them to understand being in itself has honor. Being an antagonist to the premises of society itself makes you a hero. I give this movie 10/10, not because it's perfect, but because it never tried to be. In weakness we find excellence.

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• Loved the story

  cristiana-cristescu2018-03-25

  The message that this world is sending to most of us, that we have to be the best in everything we do, to work hard to get to the top and if we don't succed, we are a failure, puts a tremendous pressure. This pressure can lead to depression, like your brain and your body just wants to shut down from everything around. For me this movie was about finding yourself, your roots, going back to nature, going back to the basic things that metter. Thank you James!

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• Defintitely worth watching

  stivenj2018-09-18

  Yeah, the story is common but different, the character is pretty honest about his situation, good thing is that he realizes he has to do something about it and doesn't get stuck in his house complaining about it. A very touching documentary with a deep message.

• Why didn't he try to find Pepe?

  randhawalovedeep2018-09-16

  It's a great story of a human being who wants to come out of his grievances. It talks about the culture of shamans, both the spiritual one and the business one. However, in the end it feels like James should be looking for Pepe. I don't know if he looked hard enough. It isn't evident from what is shown in this documentary. It just makes me say that James is a selfish person for not caring for Pepe(shaman) who actually made him feel better.

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• Give it a shot

  thorn-19942018-08-28

  The movie isn't trying to be a great movie. It just tells the story of a man in search of a will to live. Some can relate to that, some can't. Give it a shot either ways. I gave it 10/10, because i can't compare it to any other movie. Would definitely recommend, only if you can find it in yourself to empathize.