devins-2 I wanted to read comments here to see if anyone else picked up on the disconnect between the sensational marketing and the actual content of this fantastic film. There's plenty of praise in the majority of reviews, but a few in particular complain in a manner that indicates that they missed the subtext running throughout the documentary. While there is nothing to be done if the ostensible subject of a book or a movie irritates the bejeezus out of you, it's downright feeble to mount a critical attack based on finding someone "unlikeable." I expected to find some homophobic remarks, but it appears that what annoys the unhappy reviewers most is the combination of effete mannerisms, boldness of composure and matter-of-fact forthrightness in the artist with whom they were tricked into spending an hour or so. That's probably about what the filmmakers bargained for when they chose "A Modern Cannibal Tale" as the film's subtitle. Of all of the deft acts the directors perform with this movie, I'm almost impressed the most with their exclusion of any kvetching on the part of their subject about having been "the guy who dined with cannibals" for most of his life. It surely isn't lost on anyone connected with the film (certainly not Tobias Schneebaum) that he has fashioned a livelihood out of one scandalous moment. He will never live this down, still he gives little impression of living it up. Given that nearly everywhere the man goes he is asked about eating human flesh - an experience that he describes as lasting less than a minute and consisting of one small bite of roasted person - I found his manner shockingly gracious. While waiting to hear him recount this tale, he and the filmmakers unreel a wealth of personal and anthropological perspective and a walk back on his uncanny path. So really, why not sucker a few thrill seekers along for an inspired and confounding ride? Not into subtext, complexity and angry that there's no footage of the flesh feast? Cannibal Holocaust is a few aisles over.

djmissdeelovely As so many that come across this film, I was intrigued with the subtitle "A Modern Cannibal Tale." Unlike a lot of those who write their reviews angered that cannibalism is not the primary focus of the documentary, I was still enthralled. "Keep the River On Your Right" is not unlike the inspirational journeys of "The Human Experience" or even "Into the Wild." That the doc follows the man who lived these experiences decades later as he revisits the primitive locales only further underlines the profound impacts his travels had on his life and makes the contrast even more stark.If you're a teenager expecting a snuff film, then yes, you will be disappointed. Even more so if you're inclined to turn your nose up at homosexuality or same-sex relationships. You'll be disappointed and most likely you will write your scathing review on Netflix or IMDb about how you have no interest in watching a movie about an "old gay guy." Those that are open enough to listen to Tobias Schneebaum's recollections and personal discoveries will find themselves pondering whether current society or the primitive savages are more barabaric in existence and practices. Much can be learned about ourselves if we take the opportunity to learn from those different from us. That theory proved true for Schneebaum in his travels. Give the film a chance with a corrected idea of what to expect going in and it will prove true for you as well.

Wormy After receiving both the original book and passes to the film I was pleased to see the ever lasting effect a year with natives in Peru can have on a person. It is one thing to be actually in that moment and appreciate what a life changing event is taking place, but it is another to actually continue to live with the effects that it can have on you for decades to come. Perhaps it is a curse to actually become another person with a totally different identy only to return to a world that could never understand your actions and motives while in the moment, but I beleve that Tobias understood the life-long effect that it would have on him, both positive and negative.Tobias came across, in the book as well as the film, as a man who was longing for something that he didn't quite know what. And until his return 45 years after leaving the tribe I didn't sense any closure on his part for the "family" that he left behind. The "civilized" world's inability to comprehend his actions while there only added to this sense of an unfinished chapter in the original book. The film alone is a beautiful story about a man coming to terms with himself and his enviroment, but with Tobias' book it is a complete journey into one man's quest to find himself. Read the book first to fully appreciate a stunning film.

Bob O'Link (Bobolink) I saw this film at Amsterdam's International Documentary Film Festival and was privileged to meet both the directors and Tobias Schneebaum, all of whom are lively and outspoken New Yorkers. The film's title in Amsterdam was Keep the River on Your Right, making the sensational aspect of cannibalism somewhat less prominent. Equally important was the loving - and gay - relationship Tobias Schneebaum had with members of the groups he studied as an anthropologist. His reunion at nearly 80 years of age and inevitable leave-taking were very moving. I can only highly recommend this film to anyone looking for a moving story that is anything but pedestrian.