Movie

Secrets of the Tribe

2010 · 98 min

A sober, talky documentary that feels like watching a slow-motion ethical train wreck among academics in the jungle.

Tagline: A behind-the-scenes look at a scientific community torn apart by infighting.
Overview: What happens when western anthropologists descend on the Amazon and make one of the last unacculturated tribes in existence, the Yanomami, the most exhaustively filmed and studied tribe on the planet? Despite their "do no harm" creed and scientific aims, the small army of anthropologists that has studied the Yanomami since the 1960s has wreaked havoc among the tribe – and sparked a war within the anthropology community itself.
How it feels: Dark, tense, earnest and cynical. Measured and needs your attention.
About: Corruption, power, morality, exploration
Content: Mild violence, sexual content and language. No gore.
Note: Written by AI, so it can be wrong. Full breakdown

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Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Full breakdown

Tone: darkstrength 2 of 3
tensestrength 2 of 3
earneststrength 2 of 3
cynicalstrength 1 of 3
Pacing: measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention: engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes: corruption
power
morality
exploration
betrayal
Places: wilderness
big city
Era: contemporary
Audience: adult
Form: documentary
true story
Content intensity: Gore none
Language mild
Violence mild
Sex mild