After taking us through a fraught expedition through the heart of Colombia with Embrace of the Serpent, director Ciro Guerra is exploring the country’s history in a vastly different way with Birds of Passage. The acclaimed Cannes drama finds Guerra co-directing with his producer Cristina Gallego, and telling a story of Colombia’s drug trade. The film stars Jose Acosta, Carmiña Martínez, and Terminator 6‘s Natalia Reyes
Here’s the synopsis: “Torn between his desire to become a powerful man and his duty to uphold his culture’s values, Rapayet (Acosta) enters the drug trafficking business in the 1970s to secure a dowry to marry Zaida (Reyes) and finds quick success despite his tribe’s matriarch Ursula’s (Martínez) disapproval. Ignoring ancient omens, Raphayet and his family get caught up in a conflict where honor is the highest currency and debts are paid with blood.”
Guerra continues to make a name, with next on the list an adaptation of Waiting for the Barbarian, which will feature a star-studded cast of Johnny Depp, Robert Pattinson, and Mark Rylance. But first we’ll see Birds of Passage, Colombia’s official entry for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars, which opens on February 13th 2019.
