Review of Zama (2017) by James H — 26 Dec 2018

Strange movie, where reality occasionally breaks down in conjunction with the protagonist's perceptions of it. Zama is eager to end his post in Asuncion as a magistrate, but is thwarted of every opportunity.

He's already been there a while when the movie opens, and his face just gets more despairing as the film progresses. There's an ever-present boogeyman known as Vicuna Porto, who is described as 1) performing atrocities elsewhere, like Colonel Kurtz, or 2) Dead, killed by the authorities.

After the final time when Zama's request to return home is, well not denied so much as obviously not being responded to, he signs up for a mission to find and kill Vicuna. It's a weird moment, because up until then, I wasn't even sure he was real.