Often mocked by standup comedians and sitcom writers – a sure sign of its ubiquity – ayahuasca, the hallucinogenic tea, has brought an influx of western travellers going on healing retreats to the forests of Peru. Focusing on its medicinal properties, Marc Silver’s documentary aims to dispel certain misconceptions about the psychedelic brew.
Among Indigenous people, rituals involving ayahuasca have been practised for millennia. Made from vines and other plant extracts, the concoction relieves patients of physical and mental traumas. The cure also carries a ceremonial aspect; the taking of the medicine is at times accompanied by songs and chants.
Once deemed satanic by Catholic missionaries during colonial times, ayahuasca ironically now finds new converts among foreigners, whose vivid testimonials of their powerful hallucinations are recounted in detail. Nevertheless, this film seems either unwilling or ill-equipped to tackle the thornier aspects of the ayahuasca tourism boom. For example, what is the material relationship between the local community and the organisers of these wellness residencies? As well as assuming the role of a guiding force during ayahuasca ceremonies, Indigenous people also provide the meals and accommodation. Is this labour fairly compensated?
Furthermore, the film touches on the environmental threat of oil companies encroaching on Indigenous land yet neglects to examine the sustainability of ayahuasca tourism. Could it in fact be another form of capitalist exploitation and extraction of natural resources masquerading as wellness?
Though commendable in its attempt to understand ayahuasca as a legitimate and effective form of alternative medicine, Antidote suffers from a lack of intellectual rigour that leaves the final product seeming like a glossy travel brochure.
