The Territory
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The Territory
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that The Territory is a 2022 documentary about the battle between indigenous people in the Brazilian rainforest and those who want to burn it down for farmland. There's some violence, including scenes of farmers burning down vast sections of the rainforest and police arriving at a murder scene and removing blood on the grass as evidence. There are reports of the murder of one of the subjects of the documentary. Indigenous people arrest a man for trespassing on their land -- armed with bows and arrows. Brief nonsexual nudity -- buttocks. "S--t" is used once. Cigarette smoking. The documentary highlights the power of activism to bring about positive change.
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What's the Story?
THE TERRITORY is about the continuous battles between the indigenous peoples of the Brazilian rainforest and those trying to burn it down to create more farmland. Much of the documentary takes place during a pivotal time in Brazil: the election of the right-wing president Jair Bolsonaro, who has expressed active hostility to the idea of protecting the indigenous people who call the rainforest their home. We meet members of the Uru-eu-wau-wau people, including Bitaté, a young leader who must find a way to defend his people and the land from continued devastation. We meet environmental activists who fight to protect the rainforest at great personal risk. We also meet those who are trying to carve out plots of land by burning the rainforests and their reasons for doing so. As the tensions escalate, a battle between the two forces is all but inevitable, and all part of a decades-long battle.
Is It Any Good?
This is an excellent documentary about the battle to save the Brazilian rainforest at a critical time in history. The Territory takes a look at the Uru-eu-wau-wau -- an indigenous tribe in Brazil that has been slowly becoming extinct in these past decades of interactions with those trying to destroy the rainforest -- around the time that Jair Bolsonaro, a right-wing candidate for President, gets elected. Bolsonaro has given inflammatory speeches in which he expresses no concern for indigenous people or the rainforest, adding to the already existing tensions. Emboldened by Bolsonaro's rhetoric, aspiring landowners are becoming increasingly aggressive, and the inevitable battle is presented here.
It's a documentary that offers some hope but no illusion that these battles are going to end any time soon. While clearly showing what will happen if the destruction of the rainforest and the indigenous people who live there continue, it also takes the time to present the views of those who see this as an opportunity to be landowners and farmers. The result is a complete picture of what's happening in Brazil and how it's part of a very long and tragic battle between indigenous people who have one view of the land that provides them with sustenance and those who view land as something they're entitled to as a means to make money.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about documentaries like The Territory. How is this similar to and different from other documentaries about pressing social and/or environmental issues?
How did the movie try to present the different sides of the argument while also making clear the hazards of the destruction of the rainforest and the indigenous people who live there?
How did the documentary combine footage with news reports? Did this enhance the information presented? How so?
What character strengths are on display here?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: December 2, 2022
- Cast: Neidinha Bandeira, Bitaté Uru Eu Wau Wau
- Director: Alex Pritz
- Studio: Disney+
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models
- Character Strengths: Courage, Integrity
- Run time: 85 minutes
- MPAA rating: PG
- MPAA explanation: Thematic material, some smoking, brief nudity and language.
- Last updated: December 12, 2022
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