Photo: Netflix Quest narratives and exploration stories can typically be divided into two broad categories: those that preserve the romantic spirit of adventure, where nature is often a source of wonder and even renewal; and those that parody the very same, tracking descents into madness, misery, and confusion. Yulene Olaizola’s Tragic Jungle falls squarely in the latter camp. Set during the 1920s on the border of Mexico and present-day Belize (formerly British Honduras), it mainly follows a group of Mexican chicleros who, in the course of their work harvesting tree resin for chewing gum, come across a solitary, English-speaking woman named Agnes (Indira Rubie Andrewin). Fearing that she might belong to a competing British crew, they take her along forcibly, not knowing that she had just escaped from a vengeful white landowner (Dale Carley) whom she was supposed to marry, and who is still in hot pursuit. More ominously, perhaps, intermittent narration from one of the chicleros (Mariano Tun Xool), tells of Xtabay, a siren-like female of Mayan legend. Needless to say, things do not seem promising for any of the men involved.