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| Keep The River On Your Right |
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  (6/10)
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Runtime: 110 |
| Public Rating: 8.50 (2 votes) |
Director: Laurie Shapiro, David S. Shapiro |
MPAA Rating:  |
| Genre: Documentary |
Year: 2000 |
| Writer(s): None |
| Reviewed by: Vadim Rizov |
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Ladies and gentlemen, prepare to be shocked and astounded. Keep The River On Your Right (leeringly subtitled "A Modern Cannibal Tale") informs us that, among other things, white civilization ain't all it's cracked up to be. Of course, Howard Zinn, academics who feel guilty, and assorted liberals have been telling us the same for years, but Tobias Schneebaum manages to make this elementary statement seem new and interesting. The reason is that Schneebaum didn't simply theorize, or go live in a hippie compound. Instead, he simply went out and lived with the natives of both Peru and Indonesia. Cooooooool. Socially conscious brother-sister team the Shapiros document his return to these places in old age so that liberal audiences can check these places, not filmed often enough, out for themselves and feel that they too have done something rare and unusual.
Mr. Schneebaum was 78 when this documentary was filmed. Throughout the movie he occasionally, casually, notifies us of his past medical history - prostate cancer, a hip fracture, and Parkinson's. Yet the Shapiros, after a 45-year absence from the countries in question, cajole him into returning, recalling the past and teaching us all a little something about civilization, progress, and human nature.
That, I think, was the plan. And make no mistake - this movie is full of fascinating material. Everyting Schneebaum says is worth listening too - he is no phony, nor is he a tripped-out moron; he's an intelligent, articulate guy who simply decided a long time ago that conventional American life wasn't worth his time. So he went off, tried to find inner peace, and spent the rest of his life trying to find inner peace. There's a great story here, and, to the extent to which Schneebaum verbally communicates, that story is told here.
However, the Shapiros fail to provide much in the way of insight. Their languid pacing can be inexplicable, and the digital camera they use produces far from optimal images. They are little better than amateur videographers. Much credit should go to unknown composer Steve Bernstein for his truly awesome soundtrack. The story told can be engrossing, but the methods used to relate it make the source far better than the finished product.
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