In the film of Sinclair’s book, the writer ends up rerouting the story of his great-grandfather’s expedition to the Amazon to its own psychogeographic musings
Accompanying the book of the same name, Iain Sinclair extends his psychogeographic franchise out to the New World in this lightly dramatised documentary, which traces the 1891 trek of his great-grandfather Arthur Sinclair into the Amazon jungle to set up a coffee plantation for the Peruvian Corporation of London. Kicking off with testimony from the Asháninka people whose land was hijacked, his stated aim is a Conradian voyage upriver – only reversing the “romance” surrounding the colonial plunder of the time and still stinking out certain culture-war circles today.
Sinclair actually made this journey for his book, with his daughter Farne. But in writing the narration for the film version, he opts for an odd distancing affectation: it is in the mordant voice of his...
Accompanying the book of the same name, Iain Sinclair extends his psychogeographic franchise out to the New World in this lightly dramatised documentary, which traces the 1891 trek of his great-grandfather Arthur Sinclair into the Amazon jungle to set up a coffee plantation for the Peruvian Corporation of London. Kicking off with testimony from the Asháninka people whose land was hijacked, his stated aim is a Conradian voyage upriver – only reversing the “romance” surrounding the colonial plunder of the time and still stinking out certain culture-war circles today.
Sinclair actually made this journey for his book, with his daughter Farne. But in writing the narration for the film version, he opts for an odd distancing affectation: it is in the mordant voice of his...
- 8/30/2022
- by Phil Hoad
- The Guardian - Film News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.