Film Reviews
Amazonia Vertical (2005) — Venezuela
Amazonia Vertical epitomizes the films that have won Slovakian film maker Pavol Barabáš 150 awards in his home country — documentaries about extreme environments unspoiled by human contact and the crazy trekkers who take us there vicariously. In this one-hour film we follow his fellow countryman Becko Ondrejovic and three of his friends who are the first people ever to traverse Venezuela's famous Auyan Tepui, the table mountains in the remote Amazon rain forests. After a three-day trek hacking through the dense jungle, they first rock climb the vertical cliffs of the mountain, then rapel down Devil's Canyon, and finally raft the river back to an Indian village. They used no guides, no porters for their 30-kilo backpacks, and no navigational helps. At the top of Auyan Tepui is the world's highest waterfall. Some 60% of the plants and animals are unique to that environment. I watched this film on Netflix Streaming.