The Territory

Name: The Territory
Genre: Documentary
Released: August 19, 2022
Duration: 83 min
Rating: 83
Cast: Bitaté Uru Eu Wau Wau, Neidinha Bandeira

2022

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Universal acclaim based on 19 Critic Reviews

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 5 Ratings

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8.0	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 5 Ratings

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Movie Details & Credits

National Geographic Documentary Films | Release Date: August 19, 2022 | PG

Starring: Bitaté Uru Eu Wau Wau, Neidinha Bandeira

Summary: The Territory provides an immersive on-the-ground look at the tireless fight of the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought by farmers and illegal settlers in the Brazilian Amazon. With awe-inspiring cinematography showcasing the titular landscape and richly textured sound design, the film takesThe Territory provides an immersive on-the-ground look at the tireless fight of the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people against the encroaching deforestation brought by farmers and illegal settlers in the Brazilian Amazon. With awe-inspiring cinematography showcasing the titular landscape and richly textured sound design, the film takes audiences deep into the Uru-eu-wau-wau community and provides unprecedented access to the farmers and settlers illegally burning and clearing the protected Indigenous land. Partially shot by the Uru-eu-wau-wau people, the film relies on vérité footage captured over three years as the community risks their lives to set up their own news media team in the hopes of exposing the truth.… Expand

Director: Alex Pritz

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: PG

Runtime: 83 min

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Amil Niazi

Aug 19, 2022

Pritz has managed to make this often abstract and far-away subject feel anything but removed. It’s urgent, desperate and terrifying and the words of the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau ask us not to look away. Read full review

Sheri Linden

Jan 29, 2022

Its strength lies in the way it offers intimate access to people on several clashing sides of the situation, making for a complex, layered and thoughtful examination. Read full review

Katie Walsh

Aug 19, 2022

It is indeed harrowing to watch — to bear witness — and while the film is inevitably heavy with existential dread, Pritz delivers an emotionally engaging story filled with heart, heroes, and a bit of hope to hold onto. There is no more urgent film that demands your attention this year. Read full review

Ben Pearson

Jan 29, 2022

A gripping snapshot of crimes in progress and an engrossing piece of cinematic activism, The Territory is a testament to the importance of being able to preserve your own history and tell your own story, as well as a call to action for the world to notice what's happening in the Amazon ... before it's too late. Read full review

Wendy Ide

Sep 4, 2022

A must watch. Read full review

The Guardian Cath Clarke

Aug 31, 2022

The film is grimly depressing in places. I covered my eyes during Google Earth time-lapse sequences showing the pace of deforestation in the Amazon; the violence of it is too much. And yet, there is Bitaté: still a teenager, he’s already a skilled communicator. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Nick Allen

Aug 19, 2022

This is a frustrating documentary, in that it honors the work of its subject with wide-screen cinematography and leaves-crunching sound design, but as a viewing experience cannot shake the overall feeling of a dirge. Read full review

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bertobellamy

Jan 17, 2023

In the first shot, an Uru-eu-wau-wau takes the camera lying on the floor capturing the hard labor of Amazonian jungle ants. The impersonal angle suddenly takes a very intimate one when we start seeing everything in first-person mode. This scene encompasses everything 'The Territory' standsIn the first shot, an Uru-eu-wau-wau takes the camera lying on the floor capturing the hard labor of Amazonian jungle ants. The impersonal angle suddenly takes a very intimate one when we start seeing everything in first-person mode. This scene encompasses everything 'The Territory' stands for: giving the indigenous people the tools to protect what is theirs. Alex Pritz has done a remarkable job by giving the Uru-eu-wau-wau everything they need to document the invasion of their land, and not just equipment but knowledge. Maybe this sounds like a whole "white savior" affair, but Pritz is nowhere to be found; I learned about the process in Roger Deakins' podcast. But the most notable aspect of this work is how it listens to both sides, letting you know why the invaders desperately want to "colonize" new land. They're not portrayed as villains, but as normal people just trying to survive. Of course, Pritz captures their horrible path of destruction and the evil capitalist forces that take advantage of them. Making the land a commodity no matter the cost.

'The Territory' is a must-see documentary that will anger you and give you hope at the same time.… Expand

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alanpotter17

Jan 16, 2023

Um documentário curto sobre a exploração em terras indígenas na Amazônia, visto pelas perspectivas de uma tribo de apenas algumas centenas de habitantes.
O filme tem uma montagem excepcional, mostrando em animação a localização da terra e de como está tomado pelos interesses daUm documentário curto sobre a exploração em terras indígenas na Amazônia, visto pelas perspectivas de uma tribo de apenas algumas centenas de habitantes.
O filme tem uma montagem excepcional, mostrando em animação a localização da terra e de como está tomado pelos interesses da agroexportação. É um filme que não se acovarda em denunciar seus exploradores, e resgata inclusive fala do ex-presidente brasileiro Jair Bolsonaro, de extrema esquerda, em que ele defendia o interesse do grande capital.
Chega a ser um tanto quanto minimalista, mas sua duração de menos de uma hora e meia não o torna cansativo, é tudo muito visceral. Como morador brasileiro da amazônia e no meio das contradições a que o país vive, senti falta de um equilíbrio narrativo, pois o Brasil, enquanto país em desenvolvimento, vive o dilema que muitos países desenvolvidos já superaram, sobre exploração e desenvolvimento. O roteiro, ao romantizar a conservação, claramente opta por um lado, isso de maneira alguma é um problema, mas achei que poderia equilibrar mais com viés econômico e desenvolvimentista, tão necessário quanto.
No entanto, ao dar voz a povos que nunca a tiveram, o filme se engrandece de uma maneira inexplicável, ficamos completamente envolvidos àqueles personagens que estão em simbiose com a natureza, e isso já é bastante coisa. É um documentário bem feito, assertivo, não muito longo, e que cumpre bem seu papel de denúncia.… Expand

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