An Engrossing: Last News

“I consider this land mine,” a Brazilian man, identified by onscreen text as a “settler,” informs the camera at one point during “The Territory.” The land in question is a section of the Amazon rainforest in the state of Rondônia, encircled by modern development, which is, in fact, the homeland and protected territory of the Uru-Eu-Wau-Wau Indigenous people. Whether or not such legally recognized sovereignty is, in Jair Bolsonaro’s Brazil, any match for white vibes is the subject of director Alex Pritz’s first feature, which won an Audience Award and a Jury prize at this January’s Sundance and is an issue-driven documentary gratifyingly interested in action as much as advocacy.

In a climate where the leader of the free world habitually presents lies as facts on an almost daily basis, attacks any criticism as “fake news,” demonstrates open hostility to the media, while currying favor with fringe organizations that push his agenda, fighting for the values of truth in reporting seems like a Sisyphean struggle. While the battle for the necessity of clear-eyed journalism has never seemed more fraught, Agnieszka Holland’s no-nonsense “Mr.