The Falling Sky (2024)

-Written by Michelle Vorob.

Topically relevant at any time, but especially powerful during Earth month, The Falling Sky is an anthropological documentary about the Yanomami people of the Brazilian rainforest. 

Through this beautifully filmed documentary, we are introduced to Davi Kopenawa and his community of Yanomami people in Watoriki. Davi is a leader, shaman, and spokesman for his people's plight, discussing their ongoing fight to stop illegal deforestation, which is not only a threat to their very way of life, it has literally claimed the lives of many Yanomami over these past decades and is a serious environmental threat with global repercussions. 

You might watch something like this and think to yourself, “this isn't relevant to me,” “this is ‘overly dramatic’ because these people don't live in the modern world,” but it's especially relevant for that very reason. The rainforest is their literal home. This is what they know. They see the destruction, feel it, smell it. The pollution from illegal mining and deforestation is toxic. 

If you aren't willing to listen to firsthand accounts of people who are living it, people who have no political or monetary motivation and are some of the last people alive who still live tribal, communal lives, I would ask you to truly look inside yourself. Take whatever measures you need to really hear the message of these people. 

The ever-salient point of The Falling Sky is that “we” [the outside world] call people like the Yanomami “savages,” but we are the ones who kill each other, wage war, drop bombs on each other and pollute the earth. Many countries are involved in the deforestation and mining of the rainforest, motivated by money and power. The message of The Falling Sky is that money and power cannot sustain life if the planet is destroyed. 

An additional point of The Falling Sky is that we need to get out of our own way. We need to wake up. What “we” [the outside world] fight over is almost a distraction, especially if we continue to harm the earth on a devastating scale. Any counterpoint you may use to dismiss the message of The Falling Sky is emotional bargaining or willful ignorance. 

Lastly, I don't want to speak negatively of such a meaningful documentary, however, the critic in me needs to say something. It was a bit too long. I think the message would be easier to disseminate to varied audiences if the running time was cut down. It wouldn't take away from the message. For example, the first nine, close to ten minutes of footage was just people walking down a forest road, slowly approaching the camera. Silence became soft sounds, which grew to a cacophony once everyone came in close range and passed the camera. Beautifully filmed, with a kind of poetic effect, yes, but I still kept wondering when it was going to end. 

I would still encourage you to watch The Falling Sky, to glimpse into a deeply spiritual culture, with a meaningful message against industrial exploitation of nature. 

Written & Directed by Eryk Rocha and Gabriela Carneiro da Cunha.

Starring Davi Kopenawa & the Watoriki Community.

7.5/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING