Keep the River on Your Right (2000)
68%RT Audience Score: 50%
Awards & Nominations: 5 wins & 3 nominations
Keep the River on Your Right places the spotlight on a fascinating individual, Tobias Schneebaum
Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale” is a documentary that follows the life of Tobias Schneebaum, an anthropologist and artist who lived with cannibalistic tribes in the Amazon. Critics have called it fascinating, compelling, and moving, but let’s be real, it’s also a bit crazy. I mean, who willingly goes to live with cannibals? Tobias, that’s who. This documentary is a wild ride that will leave you questioning everything you thought you knew about anthropology and the human experience. Plus, it’s got some seriously cool footage of the Amazon. Definitely worth a watch, just maybe don’t eat anything while you’re watching it.
Production Company(ies)
Python Pictures, Michael White Productions, National Film Trustee Company,
Distributor
IFC Films
Release Type
Filming Location(s)
MPAA / Certificate
Rated R for depiction of mature thematic material
Year of Release
2000
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Color:Color
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Sound mix:Dolby
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Aspect ratio:NA
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Runtime:1h 30m
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Language(s):English, Spanish
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Country of origin:United States
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Release date:Release Date (Theaters): Apr 15, 2000 Original
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 29, 2002
Genre(s)
Documentary
Keyword(s)
documentary, Tobias Schneebaum, New Guinea, Peru, cannibal, tribesman, gay, Jewish, painter, jungle, directed by David Shapiro, directed by Laurie Shapiro, produced by David Shapiro, produced by Laurie Shapiro, written by David Shapiro, written by Laurie Shapiro, R rating, box office gross, $348.5K, reviewed by Owen Gleiberman, reviewed by Gary Dowell, reviewed by Louis B Parks, reviewed by Glenn Lovell, reviewed by Edward Guthmann, reviewed by Desmond Ryan, reviewed by Emanuel Levy, reviewed by Jurgen Fauth, reviewed by Vadim Rizov, reviewed by Dennis Schwartz, reviewed by Phil Hall, reviewed by Steven Mikulan, genre: documentary
Worldwide gross: $373,366
Worldwide gross (inflation-adjusted): $647,572
Worldwide gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,686
Worldwide tickets sold (est.): 70,619
US/Canada gross: $373,366
US/Canada gross (inflation-adjusted): $647,572
US/Canada gross ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,275
US/Canada opening weekend: $12,623
US/Canada opening weekend (inflation-adjusted): $21,894
US/Canada opening weekend ranking (inflation-adjusted): 2,483
Budget and Earnings Details
Production budget (est.): NA
Production budget (inflation-adjusted): NA
Production budget ranking: NA
Marketing and distribution budget (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
Box office net earnings to date (inflation-adjusted est.): NA
ROI to date (est.): NA
ROI ranking: NA
Laurie Shapiro – Director
David Shapiro – Producer
Laurie Shapiro – Producer
Tom Donahue – Film Editing
Tula Goenka – Film Editing
Director(s)
David Shapiro, Laurie Shapiro
Writer(s)
NA
Producer(s)
David Shapiro, Laurie Shapiro
Film Festivals
Awards & Nominations
5 wins & 3 nominations
Academy Awards
All Critics (51) | Top Critics (20) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (11)
September 7, 2011 | Rating: A-
Owen Gleiberman
Entertainment Weekly
TOP CRITIC
A fascinating if somewhat unfocused documentary.
October 11, 2001
Gary Dowell
Dallas Morning News
TOP CRITIC
Schneebaum, a dull and helpless-looking nonentity at first glance, proves to be an amazingly courageous, inquisitive, remarkable man.
August 10, 2001
Louis B. Parks
Houston Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
Makes for fascinating, compelling viewing.
May 21, 2001
Glenn Lovell
San Jose Mercury News
TOP CRITIC
What begins as a curious document, then, evolves into something more.
May 14, 2001
Edward Guthmann
San Francisco Chronicle
TOP CRITIC
An extraordinarily absorbing documentary.
May 14, 2001
Desmond Ryan
Philadelphia Inquirer
TOP CRITIC
August 19, 2005 | Rating: 3/5
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
A moving portrait of an astounding life.
October 8, 2003 | Rating: 4/5
Jurgen Fauth
About.com
June 19, 2003 | Rating: 6/10
Vadim Rizov
Movie-Vault.com
… takes you to where Tobias Schneebaum has been and in an engrossing manner lets you see why he went there.
December 18, 2002 | Rating: A
Dennis Schwartz
Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews
Intriguing if somewhat leisurely documentary on anthropologist/artist Tobias Schneebaum.
December 8, 2002 | Rating: 3/5
Phil Hall
Film Threat
The Shapiros … ultimately reveal a frail but mentally robust old man whose gnawing hunger for knowledge led him to shun a safe, comfortable career in art for a series of radically transformative experiences at the world’s edges.
October 28, 2002
Steven Mikulan
L.A. Weekly…
Plot
Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale follows the story of Tobias Schneebaum, a gay Jewish New York painter who lived as a cannibal and tribesman in New Guinea and Peru in 1955, and returns to the jungle at age 78.
Trivia
Goofs / Tidbits
Fresh Kernels doesn’t provide any goofy or funny comments about the film “Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale.”
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