“What is that smoke for?” a boy asks his grandfather, who is spreading a haze outside their house at the edge of the forest. “It soothes the spirits of the jungle. It protects us from them.”
Grandfather’s help is also called upon when a member of the local community goes missing. He communicates with all the inhabitants of the forest and the river: spirits, people and animals, such as the fearsome Grandfather Caiman (Lanawaru). He is one to watch out for, as the boy knows, thinking back to a dangerous incident on the river.
Lanawaru thus evokes a spiritual world in which rituals play an important role in maintaining the balance between the members of the community and their environment. Director Angello Faccini Rueda, who is also responsible for the cinematography, captures this world in strong visual compositions, supported by a soundtrack with a magical touch.
