‘Transamazonia’: A Faith Healer’s Quest for Answers in a Gorgeous Amazonian Setting

Rebecca Byrne, the enigmatic young heroine of “Transamazonia,” carries an ethereal quality that seems fitting for someone who literally fell from the sky. As a child, she survived a plane crash in the remote Amazon rainforest, becoming the sole survivor of the disaster. Dubbed a miracle by the media, she has remained in the jungle, where she has built a reputation as a Christian healer.

Helena Zengel’s compelling and elusive portrayal leaves us questioning whether Rebecca’s miracles are genuine or merely part of her persona. This central mystery drives the multifaceted ambiguities of Pia Marais’s thought-provoking environmental fable, where religious zeal and deforestation both threaten Indigenous cultures.

Debuting in Locarno’s main competition and set for a slot at the New York Film Festival, Marais’s latest film follows her internationally oriented-career. Her previous work, the 2013 film “Layla Fourie,” focused on South Africa, but her current project addresses postcolonial themes of identity and displacement.

“Transamazonia” strives to present Brazil’s underrepresented Amazon region authentically, collaborating with the Assurini people of Trocará Indigenous Territory, who are credited as associate producers. Despite its ambitious and conscientious approach, the film’s opaque characterizations may distance viewers emotionally while maintaining their interest.

Rebecca’s Amazonian sanctuary is shared with her American missionary father, Lawrence (Jeremy Xido). After the crash, Lawrence established a mission in the jungle’s remnants, using Rebecca as the centerpiece of his evangelical performances. The locals, believing in her healing powers, attend his dramatic sermons, but Lawrence’s flamboyant showmanship raises doubts about the authenticity of these miracles.

Rebecca, portrayed by the young German talent Helena Zengel, appears conflicted and unsure of her own abilities, a result of both her adolescent uncertainties and the controlled environment maintained by her father. Nine years after the crash, she remains largely unaware of her family’s past but begins to question her own narrative through her connections with Indigenous peers.

The plot thickens when Alves (Rômulo Braga), a logging company head involved in illegal deforestation, requests Rebecca’s help for his comatose wife. This request entangles the mission in a local conflict between loggers and the endangered tribes, exposing the Byrnes’ precarious position as both outsiders and allies. The film reflects on whether the mission serves or exploits the Byrnes, offering spiritual relief while challenging their role in the community.

“Transamazonia” serves as a modern neo-western, with the dense Amazon jungle, captured in deep greens by Mathieu de Montgrand, standing in for a lawless frontier. The film explores the complex interplay between the Church, the deforesters, and the Indigenous people, maintaining a cool detachment while observing these conflicting factions. The deforesters are portrayed as the clear antagonists, but the film remains nuanced in its portrayal of other characters.

Atmospherically rich and immersive, “Transamazonia” captures the purpose of the environment it seeks to protect, evoking both its beauty and the danger of losing oneself within it. For Lawrence, the Amazon represents a chance for reinvention, while for Rebecca, leaving it may symbolize a new beginning.