All language subtitles for Humano

There's only one way
to uncover the mystery of life:

by knowing who we are.

I don't know who I am,
where I'm from, where I'm going...

or who we once were,

who we are, or who we'll be,

if we become anything at all.

In photos from my past,

I discover a struggle and a yearning
to comprehend my own existence.

I named this group of pictures
"Regression of the Embrace",

or "How I stopped smiling".

Smile...

Hug...

Hug...

Hug...

Smile...

Less hugging...

Working on that smile...

Nothing much...

Wanting to disappear...

WARNING!

If you haven't faced life's conflicts,

don't watch any further,

because you probably aren't aware
of your own existence.

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA
JUNE 2011

I'm off to meet Plácido,

a guide I met in Buenos Aires
at a talk on Andean cosmology.

Back then I was writing a film script
on the mysteries of the Andes.

Who are you?

What are you searching for?

I have a notebook full of questions,

and I hope to find
as many answers as I can.

Sometimes,
you can't even follow your own heart,

your own essence.

I want to switch off for a while.

I'll be your friend,
not just your teacher.

Don't wait for happiness.
Be happy with what you have...

from the moment
in which you make that decision.

Some things in life are simple.

Those things shouldn't be questioned.
Life should just be lived.

It's better just to live.

Sometimes we aren't ready
for certain questions,

and when we are,
the answers often bother us.

Some questions are so obvious,

they even provide their own answers,

so we don't take any responsibility.

Focus on living,
not on asking so many questions,

because the truth
can often be very disturbing.

We're still not quite ready...

to know the truth.

Oh shit!

In this place,
traces of the past are still intact.

These prevailing traditions,
are like something out of a dream.

These people hold within them

thousands of years
of ancestral and Shamanic knowledge,

their legacy a gift to humanity.

After all,
the Incas couldn't conquer them.

I'm looking for Placido.

You're here.
That's a good start, isn't it?

Less than a century ago,
they decided to emerge,

their first contact with the world.

I don't like being exposed to things,

and I usually try, if possible...

not to let them see my face.

What are you searching for?

The reason for our existence.
Why are we alive?

Well that's a good question.

But at the end of the day,

words alone can't explain it.

Instead, we would have to…

If you want to find your answers,
we'd have to go on a journey.

This journey...

was impelled by your ancestors.

Ancestors are the ones
who have asked questions,

who have had visions,

and unable to find their own answers,

they've left it up to you.

What interests me most
is the orgin of man, of human beings.

If you want to learn about humanity,

first you have to be human.

The human condition

must be consciously manifested
within us.

We are all born as humans,
but we are not all human.

It's a condition that must be achieved
by those who want it.

It's really simple,

but words aren't enough
to explain it.

That's why we're starting...

with some rituals.

Don't stray too far.

I gave my body to the lake,

I came out like this.

These waters...

are like ancient waters
that have melted straight off the ice,

as if frozen in time.

That's why snowy mountains
are believed to be sacred,

because they hold information,
either water or something else.

They store things, as if frozen.

So that's why we have to come
to the mountains

to carry out these rituals.

Let's see, how can we explain this,
for example...

-Alan...
-Yes...

Last night the temperature dropped

to about minus ten degrees,

and Alan spent the whole time

trying to endure the cold. Why?

I felt that my body
couldn't endure the cold.

So you're experiencing
different dimensions.

Here, we experience many dimensions,
thousands in fact.

Nobody in their right mind,

at least from the city,
would dare to come here

and try to endure
sub-zero temperatures.

But you're in another dimension.

That's what happens.

Dimensions are ways of understanding,

they are challenges.

So I can tell you that right now,
you're in another dimension,

just by being here.

After only a few hours together,

he tells me a story.

As a child, his grandma was playing
in a valley with some "misarumis",

magical ceremonial stones
that open the gates of knowledge.

After playing for a while,
she mysteriously disappeared.

Her family searched the whole valley
and asked door to door.

She had gone without a trace.

They went to the altomisayoc for help,

the only one able to communicate
with the apus,

protective spirits of the mountains,

guardians of the Earth.

At the ceremony, the apus told them
she was in another world,

and would return after six months.

After six months,
she still hadn't returned.

The apus, aware of the situation,

explained that she would return
the next day,

at the third strident chime of a bell.

The sun began to rise
from behind the mountains,

and a bell chimed,
making the earth shake.

Another chimed
from the mountain's belly,

and yet another from its peak.

The altomisayoc made
a desperate plea to the apus.

The girl spent that night alone.

The next day, the apus
made the wallatas bring her back.

The apus had foreseen her return,
but not the consequences.

She was sleepwalking.

They said that she would wake up
on the third roar of a bull.

They couldn't speak to her,
she had forgotten her own language.

She had forgotten Quechua

having spent 10 years
on another planet,

or six months on this Earth,
as per our concept of space and time.

Suddenly it all came back to her.

She spoke about a magical world,

where people lived in harmony,
and anything you wanted became real.

It helps knowing
that other ways of life also exist,

and how these relate to our own.

What is Pachamama?

Pachamama... is a very broad concept.

Pachamama even includes the universe.

What we should really
be talking about...

is Aipa, or Aipamama,

which is much more specific,
and which refers to the Earth.

So Earth, or Mother Earth,

isn't just our home.

It's our body,

and if we, or if everyone believed
that Earth was our body,

then it would be impossible
to harm Earth.

How would you define nature?

It's a little bit hard to define,

because defining life is never easy.

How can I explain this...

It's a slow vibration.

So nature is...

something that compliments our lives,

helping us to evolve or retrogress.

What's the purpose or function of man
in relation to nature?

The evolution...

of all different beings on Earth.

What is the reason for our existence?

Existence is a way of combining...

light with matter.

-Why are we here?
-Why are we here?

-Just by chance?
-No, there are reasons.

-Why do people worship the sun?
-Nobody does that in the Andes.

-What powers does man have?
-One of man's powers...

I don't think I can absorb much more.

It's hard to take this all in
as a mere study,

detached from the subject
and its context.

How can we help things evolve,

if we're deliberately killing them?

How am I supposed to communicate
with trees, mountains, earth or rocks,

when I can hardly communicate
with myself?

Shamanism is a way
of restructuring the mind.

Shamanism provides us with secrets...

to work firstly on our emotions,
then on the material aspects.

If you can't understand your emotions,

you won't know how much or how little

you need to work on them.

Walk like a puma.

Feel you're a puma,

sniff like a puma,
feel the Earth like a puma.

Shamanism deals with...

making things real
and developing trust,

and tricking the mind.

It actually plays with the mind.

Could we do a Shamanic ritual
or recipe later on?

Yes, we could.

Wachuma...

is... a sacred plant.

It's also known...

as Saint Peter.

When the Spanish arrived,

the Jesuits also consumed it.

So, they say...

that since Saint Peter is the one
who holds the key to heaven,

what this plant did,

was take the Spanish up to heaven.

That's why it was named Wachuma.

Sometimes,
with the help of certain plants,

you think you're seeing things
that you can't actually see.

The reason...

why many people consume these plants

is to see what can't be seen.

We don't believe what we can't see,

and so it helps us.

It helps us to see, it helps us...

to believe in this invisible world.

Do you think this is nature's gift
so that we can understand it better,

and be cured?

Well, these plants are sacred.

Tobacco…

Sacred plants...

are bound to man,

to help man.

But if man

starts depending on these plants,

man is no longer man.
He instead lives for that plant.

We don't use Wachuma in the Andes,

only in extreme cases,

when a person can't understand
or see anything.

The use of coca leaves is more common,

which are used for the same purpose,

to gain awareness.

-Is it hallucinogenic?
-Yes, sort of.

But how can we be sure of what we see?

Is it not part of the imagination?
Is it really there?

Well...

To tell the truth...

If your imagination,
or whatever you like to call it,

changes your life for the better,

then...

then I think we can say
that it's a good thing.

But often what you see
can change your life for worse.

This whole journey up until now

is just preparation.

That's all it is.

And the best way to prepare yourself
is by contemplating nature.

So really...

you're not just imagining it.
There are other beings around you,

who can perhaps guide you,

and teach you something.

All of it?

The plant is already inside you
even before you drink it.

This offering involves...

treating Earth
as if it were our mother,

not just our home.

So...

it would be nice, once in a while,

or once year, to say "thanks mum"

for everything
that I've taken from Earth.

How can you offer something
to Earth right now,

if you don't even know how Earth is,

how it will react,
or even what Earth likes?

Would you offer it something?

-No, because I don't know how.
-Exactly.

But if you were to live for Earth,

and if Earth were to live for you,

then you'd know what it likes.

You'd know how to converse with Earth.

If we understand what exists on Earth
and what surrounds us on Earth,

then we can begin to understand
that other worlds might also exist.

Who taught others
about the "despacho"?

Knowledge?

Well...

The Saqras passed down this knowledge

to the human priests
so that they could fight against...

-The Wiracochas?
-The Wiracochas and the Chullpas.

So we've inherited this knowledge
from the Saqras.

If Earth undergoes any changes,

or if Earth...

is damaged in a way
that is not its natural process,

then humanity will also be damaged.

Humanity will also be destroyed
in some way,

or it will destroy itself.

Well, here we are.

We've just finished
the "despacho" ceremony, and...

we're in the mountains,

in Qeros.

It's really cold.

"Despachos" are usually carried out

in the mountains, near a lake.

We made an offering to Pachamama.

I'm slowly starting to understand...

what I'm being taught.

It's not that easy
for Westerners or "gringos"

to understand...

the Andean worldview.

But I feel I can really identify
with all of these concepts.

You'll just have to learn
how to trust, that's all.

Off you go.

The only thing
that can overcome fear is action,

but that action
needs to be as slow as possible.

Yes, I'm scared,
I'm trying to ignore it.

Fear only exists...

-if you need it to exist.
-Yes.

Trust yourself.

The cold is part of adjusting.

-Am I doing well?
-Exceptionally well.

Am I doing alright?

I'm already in the cave.

Wow!

No!

-See how there's no fear?
-It's so beautiful.

When we aren't afraid,
we see that beauty.

Fear doesn't let us see...

-...reality.
-Reality.

It would be great
if people could trust,

just once in their lives,
in something that they can't explain.

Wow!

Well I can't really explain

what I was feeling just then.

It was a mixture of fear,
adrenaline...

of understanding fear...

You can understand fear in the dark.

Everything is intensified...

I could see the fear, it had a form.

This place is completely magical.

It can be hard to describe fear.

Sometimes it's just an image,
or a feeling,

that words can't explain.

I think today was the first time...

that I completely understood fear,

and felt joy in overcoming it.

It's all so simple,

sacred places for overcoming fear,

other "huacas"
for understanding love, or laughter.

It's all so simple...

and yet sometimes our fears
are so complex.

when they come from...

who knows where, right?

Our fears...

The burdens we often carry...

are what our fathers wanted,
our grandfathers,

and what their grandfathers wanted.

So in the end,
there are seven generations behind us,

supporting us
and directing us in their path,

not ours.

So these bags or burdens that we carry

are nothing but genetic influences.

They're often genetic,
and sometimes emotional.

This is...

a kind of...

...door.
-Really?

-Look, there's a ghost here.
-Yes.

It's a ghost.

I want you…

to repeat seven times,
while looking at this,

"Forgive me, I forgive you".

The human body

isn't that straightforward.
It's really complicated.

Once, maybe,

it meant everything.

And back then,
it was present here too.

Working with your ancestors

means that you will recognise...

what you were.

Forgive me, I forgive you...

Some beings once lived here

and built this whole place

with a purpose in mind.

Nobody knows what that is,

but if you do this...

you'll have a greater chance
of finding out.

This Earth...

registers all evolution, right here.

Our ancestors...

were once here,

talking, eating, working.

Everything is registered here.

Here...

Eat this...

Pachamama has its own language.

Fire has its own language.

For example,

if you say "hello fire",

do you think it will understand?

I hope so,
I don't know how to talk to it.

Well do you know
why it won't understand?

Because the fire never learnt
how to speak Spanish.

-That's why.
-It didn't go to school.

Not to school, or university.

-Have you ever heard of "ícaro"?
-No.

Wow, which world do you live in?

"Ícaro" is a chant

without a form.

The form,
or what we're speaking, is Spanish.

That's a form.

Only those who speak Spanish
can understand it,

nobody else.

Fire doesn't speak Spanish,
so it can't understand you.

But "icaro" is a language
for communicating

with everything material on Earth.

The chant goes like this...

Sing however you want.

-Whatever I want?
-Whatever you want.

So...

-Did you understand anything?
-Yes.

One night I dreamt that I was walking
in one of Cuzco's valleys

when a pack of bloody-thirsty dogs
attacked me.

I told Plácido about my dream,

and he explained that I had eradicated
all of my old ideas.

What concerns me
is the awareness of humanity.

The only way
for someone to ultimately evolve

is by bringing awareness to humanity,
to people on Earth.

So, I think that's my goal,
what I wish for.

I know I may not achieve it,

but at least I will achieve it
within myself, I know it.

Let's go. Come on, hurry up.

Come on.

-Why don't you stay?
-Stay where?

Here.

Don't you think
it would be easier to stay here?

Easier?

-Yes, it would.
-So why don't you stay?

I guess it's because
I'm trying to push myself.

Here, carry this.

-What about the camera?
-I'll take it.

I'll help you.

Come on, run.

Faster!

This pile of rocks...

has been formed by others
who have also brought rocks here

to adapt to this place.

Put it on there

and stay here.

They are
the few who have really lived.

The rest are asleep.

Long ago, man's purpose for temples
was practical.

Here, people began
to learn about different things,

like true love, medicine,

and understanding the different bodies
that live within us.

Plácido told me that temples

are linked to specific things
that need working on,

like understanding
the 3 Andean worlds,

where they all relate to one another.

In Tiahuanaco, we find the Sun Temple,
linked to Hanaq Pacha,

the world of the condor,
of the future.

It's the celestial kingdom
where our ideas about God exist.

Nearby, there's Puma Punku,

which is linked to Kay Pacha,
the world of the puma, of the present,

and where we live in harmony
with the apus and with nature.

Strangely enough, Plácido mentions
a missing, lost or hidden temple.

It's the Uju Pacha Temple,

the world of the snake,
the past, of material things.

We can't be introduced
to the other temples

without conquering the snake first,
or material things.

Nobody arrives at God's feet
from above.

No wonder
there is nothing left of this temple.

After seeing all this, I wonder...

what the conquerors would have felt
seeing these majestic constructions.

Would they have felt intimidated
when they discovered their purpose?

Could this be why they built churches
where the sacred Andean temples lay?

What do the inscriptions mean
on the Sun Gate?

Could they be instructions
to awaken mankind?

Nowadays,
temples are more about control,

and more about...

hypnotising people.

-Weren't they always?
-No, they weren't.

Temples used to be
for freeing man from mankind.

The Andean way of life
is not a religion.

Different religions have made us...

seek external Gods.

They haven't allowed us
to take any responsibility,

or accept a God within us.

They've always taught us
to search for something else.

What are your questions
about religion?

It's more about trying to
understand why religions exist.

What their purpose is...

since they seem to segregate people
rather than unite them.

That used to annoyed me,
but not anymore.

I've also learnt
not to reject my own religion.

The only thing you need to understand,

is that everything

is there to be understood,

and not to be rejected or judged.

As soon as you start judging,
you enter into dualism.

So if we want total peace,

there will be total war somewhere...

-on Earth.
-Of course.

So there will be absolute peace.

Those who preach love
reach the light straight away.

Those who preach death,
like the Catholic religion,

stay on Earth
instead of reaching the light.

They say things like
"you need to die to find happiness",

or "you have to die
before you can go to paradise".

As long as these two conditions,

Earth and light, allow us to exist.

If we understand this,
then we can be human, but only then.

Otherwise we'll either be Sajra,

what Catholics call the "devil",

or else a type of God,

or a priest to these Gods.

We'll simply never be human.

It's easier to identify with divinity
in the mountains,

than in the city,
locked up inside temples,

praying to an unknown God,
whose intentions I'm not sure about.

But amongst nature, it's all there.

Some of the knowledge
is protected in a way,

because knowledge in the Andes

was somehow first protected
through jealousy,

and only for those who could see it,

because in the Andes,
knowledge is like a key,

and you don't give your key
to somebody you don't know.

And that key
opens dimensions directly,

which may seem crazy to some people,

like an illusion,
or part of one's imagination.

But if somebody was once there,
then it's real for some people.

Throughout my time in the Andes,
people always talked about the apus.

These beings are invisible to us,
and they take care of Earth.

Their bodies are the mountains.

After hearing of people's experiences
with the apus,

I didn't want to miss out
and put my anxiety aside.

I too wanted to meet the apus.

We spent two months
trying to locate the altomisa,

until we finally found her.

We couldn't film this session.

María is very old
and not as strong as she used to be.

She seemed ageless.

She observed me
without saying a single word.

I was really scared.

I had more coca leaves in my mouth
than ever.

Nothing could calm me down.

At first, I didn't really understand
what I was hearing,

whether it was
the Shaman's distorted voice,

or if there was really
something else there.

Everyone said "Good evening daddy".

It was the apu.

I was late to greet him.

He wanted me to ask a question.

Trembling,
I asked about the apu's role on Earth.

We stayed like that for 30 minutes.

After the first five minutes
I was able to switch my mind off.

I didn't want any rhetoric
between my conscious and unconscious.

I let myself enjoy
what I was experiencing:

one of the most beautiful symphonies
I had ever heard.

Believe or die.

Many people think and say

that Andean ancestral practices
are the work of the devil.

If that's the case,
then Lucifer's acolytes are amazing.

My experience with the apus
ended up killing all my dogs.

The apu who came to the ceremony

suggested that I talk less
and practice "allynkausay",

the human path towards balance.

He also told me
that my own apu was Champaquí.

I couldn't believe it.

They'd said Champaquí,
a protective mountain in Argentina.

I thank the apus
for all they've given me.

For the death of our dogs.

-Could you say that this is alive?
-I can say it's alive.

But only to you.

Could you explain
that everything is alive?

Everything?

In just one word?

Could I explain
that everything is alive?

How could I explain it?
No, I couldn't explain it.

Could you tell others
that this rock is alive?

I would have to explain it
using examples,

by practising.

The apus are the same.

Unless you've shared
an experience with them,

unless you've lived with them,

it's all just a story.

Actually I don't feel...

like I've left anything unfinished,
fortunately.

And what will you do with all this?

A movie...

For your apu, Champaquí.

Do I blow three times?

Blow on it...

and ask to connect with your apu.

Here's part of the Earth

from where you're connecting from.

So the underworld,
or what we call Uju Pacha...

-The world of the snake?
-The world of the snake, let's say.

It's a place...

It's exactly the world
we're going to work with.

There was once a world named Earth.

Androgynes inhabited
various parts of this planet.

Chullpas were beings who built things,

not with their hands,
but with their voices.

One day...

a being called Wiracocha arrived.

He saw everything
that was there on the planet.

He had come from a planet called Apu.

And so they named him
Apu Illa Teqsi Wiracocha.

And so he taught these beings
about dualism.

Then a Saqra, another being,

arrived from a faraway planet or star.

He started to extract gold
from this planet

for vital energy,

energy that is consumed
by these beings.

The Saqra...

decided to create a new being.

He created man and woman.

The Chullpas disappeared,

and humans began living

in dualism as men and women,

in various parts of the Earth.

So we were created by the Saqras,

and in the end,
we are like their slaves.

More beings arrived,

and they wanted to know

why these new beings were created.

As punishment,

they sent the Saqra
deep below the Earth

so that he could see his own creation,

and whether or not
they would be his slaves.

That’s why he's known to be bad,

but actually
he's neither good nor bad.

He's the same as us...

Even in Latin,
Lucifer means “carrier of light”,

so it sounds strange
if something negative carries light.

He is still seen as being negative,

because the only thing he seeks,
from one point of view at least,

is to gather all the energy on Earth,
which is gold.

So the only thing
that major religions try to do

is face up to him
and find their own gold,

although always saying
“they’re bad, we’re good”.

But do both of these energies
search for gold?

Both of them search for gold.

But I'm not referring
to the conscious mind.

I'm referring to the unconscious mind,
where it's known to be true.

And it's known to be true,
because it is.

How do we know
about the story of creation?

We know about creation

because there are certain frequencies
that humans can reach.

Stones speak.

They become permeated
with that information.

How interesting.

When I first wrote down that question

about whether it was important
for us to know our origins,

I thought it was
the most important question of all.

Now that I know it,
it doesn't seem important.

It seems more important to know...

who we were, who we are,
and who we'll be.

Understanding this
is easier than knowing who I am.

Knowing who we are
is up to each individual,

and nobody else can tell our story.

Because this is a story,
stories are easy to understand.

Please come in.

Right now we're inside
the elephant's belly,

-inside its form.
-Which represents...

-Which symbolises...
-...the Mother's belly.

Your mother's belly.

Since you couldn't return
to your mother's belly,

we need to search for an alternative.

so that we can re-enter it

and be consciously reborn
from the mind.

Lie in a fetal position.

Use the cold to create a connection.

Listen to your heartbeat.

And Earth's heartbeat.

WARNING!

HUMAN,

CLOSE YOUR EYES

Feel like you're part of everything.

Breathe from the trees,

from the rock, from the ocean.

All you have to imagine,
is that you're inside,

and convince yourself
that you're inside.

You just have to be aware
that you are Earth,

all the time.

That's all.

All you need to realise,

is that you are just one more cell
on Earth.

Once you realise

that you're part of Earth,

you'll start facing up to Earth.

But if you aren't aware of this,

you'll just be a virus.

You need to realise...

that your body...

is the most evolved material form
that exists.

Life of mankind
is closely linked to life on Earth.

If humans, as a group,

do something negative to Earth,

then all that evolution
will go to waste.

Understanding a second beginning
from the mind

means being aware of where we are.

It's about realising...

who we are.

Having made it this far
means that you've made the effort.

You're already here.

All you needed to do
was make it this far.

Wake up as a human being.

Make a conscious decision
to be born again.

We're a mixture

of four DNA.

That's why we don't even know
who we are,

or where we're going.

We don't even know what to look for.

So when you do something good,
it seems bad,

and when you do something bad,
it seems good.

All you have to do...

is take...

everything inside you
from your ancestry,

which are those four DNA,

and declare yourself a human being.

And remember

that your main body is Earth,

and it's your home.

As long as you respect this,

everything will be fine.

Otherwise...

all creation...

the whole species...

will go to waste.

One day I decided to put this mask on

to explain to you
that life is really simple.

As an action, that's all it is.

All of it, just for me.

The apus and Pachamama

ask nothing more of you
than awareness about sharing.

When you put this into effect,

you start to live and face up to Earth
and the apus,

and vice versa.

Life brought me to you,

to help you remember who you are.

You've done it, haven't you?

I hope you'll never forget

that you're a human being.

So in the end, what are you?

In the end, what are you looking for?

Who are you?

In the end, what are you?

TO OUR ANCESTORS,
WHO CONTINUE TO LIVE WITHIN US.