25 October 2016 | necid-70967

3 | Self Indulgent

I had a lot of expectations from this film, having been following Abramovic work, and appreciating it, for many years. I was disappointed. Marina 'tours' Brazil, seeking spiritual guidance and healing. She meets many types of healer saints and the film allows us a glimpse into the complex and varied means through which people try to alleviate their pain and despair. However the film carelessly drifts into a narcissistic journey, and everyone and everything in this film is about Marina's self indulgence. It suffers from two main shortcomings. Nothing about Brazil as a nation in crisis, and nothing about the way access to shooting had been obtained. There is a troubling sense of an ethical breach in this film: did all these people we watch really consented to being filmed? How was permission granted? How were the scenes arranged? Planned? Directed? The film could have been much more interesting if we as viewers understood more about the background, instead of forcing us to the not very interesting account of Marina's obviously very comfortable VIP travels. All in all, a pretentious documentary which leaves little to think about and enjoy at both the cinematographic and narrative levels.