Director Mel Gibson brings forward a gripping account of the Mayan empire. The movie was somewhat diluted at the box office by Gibson’s personal problems and Mayan scholars, but I thought it was an excellent entertainment.
Jaguar Paw (Ruby Youngblood) is a hunter in the jungles along with this father Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead) and other members of his village. While out on the hunt they encounter a group of displaced villagers who only want to cross through their portion of the forest. This should’ve been a harbinger of something terrible to come but Flint Sky tells the men to not let the village know about this occurrence to keep fear from the villagers.
The next morning Jaguar Paw awakens from a nightmare and finds that his village is in the beginnings of an attack by a fearsome group of Mayans. In the melee he takes his pregnant wife Seven (Dalia Hernandez) and young son Turtles Run (Carlos Emilio Baez) and hides them in a dry well. The village is destroyed and Jaguar Paw is captured by the raiders, who are led by the fearsome Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo). The survivors are taken by to their city where a horrible fate awaits the prisoners.
Jaguar Paw knows that he must escape his captors and return to his family since their means of escape from the well had been cut by a raider, so they are surely doomed if he doesn’t return and get them out of the well. However, his captors are not about to let that happen and their hungry gods are awaiting the hearts of the prisoners.
If you read some criticism of the film you’ll find several bones of contention with scholars who think that Gibson took large liberties with the Mayan culture and societies. However, coming from the side of ignorance about these cultures I’ll have to say that I found the film a grand experience and action filled.
I can see how that if you’re a knowledgeable Mayan expert that you’ll scoff at some of the stuff that Gibson uses (and even the academics disagree amongst each other as whether his film is accurate or not), but I’m thinking that the average filmgoer isn’t going to know jack about the Mayans. That’s probably the best way to watch the movie, just let it be a movie.
Although I can see their point since we tend to accept film as historical facts (or I should say some of the population does) and seemingly let the fiction replace the fact in our minds. I recall in my high school days there was a coach/history professor that it was said that if his light switch was broken in his room he wouldn’t know since he was showing films all the time (both academic and Hollywood “historical” types). It was the same high school that Rudy Youngblood attended although at a different time than I, but I come not to disparage coaches but to talk about Mel Gibson’s movie.
I found the film pretty good and quite thrilling. It is seemingly divided into three sections: the idyllic “noble savage” section that shows village life, the Aztec-like sacrificial scenes, and the final chase of Jaguar Paw with emphasis on the danger his family is in. The cast of unknowns makes (only Trujillo, for the most part, has an extensive filmography) makes the filmic reality more believable since we don’t have to see stars in native garb. The jungle is really rather beautiful and is in sharp contrast to the supposedly civilized city dwellers that kidnap villages to sacrifice to their god(s) (another bone of contention with the scholars who said the Mayans really didn’t do this too much).
The film does move into a more Rambo-like chase and kill scenes but I still it. Perhaps what caused more folks to stay away from it was the various problems that Mel Gibson was having in real life (the drunk driving incident earlier in 2006).
Apocalypto is presented in anamorphic widescreen (1.85:1) and enhanced for 16x9 televisions. Special features include a commentary by writer/director Mel Gibson and writer/co-producer Farhad Safinia. Next is the 25 minute “Becoming Mayan: Creating Apocalypto” (that title will send Mel’s academic detractors into a tizzy) which interviews Safinia, Gibson, unit production manager Anna Roth, consultant Dr. Richard Hansen, costume designer Mayes Rubeo, Raoul Trujillo, makeup designer Vittorio Sodano, and weapons master Simon Atherton.
Finally there’s a deleted scene that is really disappointing. It’s a 30 second scene of a burnt and injured deer (a harbinger of the decimation to come) before the captives walk through a razed village. It features an optional commentary by Gibson and Safinia, but you’d think that they could’ve found more than just 30 seconds of deleted scenes.
Personally, I really liked Apocalypto but if you’re a Mayan expert you might have a few bones to pick with Mel. I found it a well made film that has some lush scenery, gory human sacrifices (even if the Mayans didn’t do too much of it), good performances, and wonderful effects and weaponry. It may not be history, but it is an entertaining movie in my humble opinion.
Apocalypto is now available at Amazon . It is available for pre-order at AmazonUK for a June 11th release. Visit the DVD database for more information.
BorMay 21st, 2007 - 21:34:19
The 'Mayan Scholars' have a political axe to grind. For a long time they've claimed the Mayans were relatively peaceful. Evidence of widespread human sacrifice has been found, but they prefer to downplay or ignore it because it clashes with their belief that only Europeans (and their descendants)do bad things.
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