Apocalypto Review
by Mark R. Leeper (mleeper AT optonline DOT net)December 12th, 2006
APOCALYPTO
(a film review by Mark R. Leeper)
CAPSULE: This is history with more than a little
Grand Guignol. At times the view of the ancient
Mayan civilization is engaging and unique, but it
in no way should it be thought to be historically
accurate, in spite of director Mel Gibson's use of
the original Mayan language. Conflating two periods of Mayan history several centuries apart, it is the
story of an intended human sacrifice running for his life while chased by implacable Mayans. Mel Gibson
needs a much better scriptwriter than Mel Gibson.
Rating: 0 (-4 to +4) or 4/10.
Spoiler warning: I at least hint at some of the plot of the film.
The Mayan Empire grew from about the year 400 to 900. At their height they became a people very advanced in science. Mayan notation for numbers made arithmetic easier for Mayan children than our numbers make it for our children. The Dresden Codex shows that they may not have understood exactly what eclipses were, but they knew when they were coming.
The empire became corrupt and fell in the years from 900 to the end of its power and the abandonment of its cities about 1200. So most--not all, but most--of APOCALYPTO takes place somewhere in the time from 1000 to 1200. I say "most" because Mel Gibson's script for his own film brings together widely separated periods of the past more or less like the movies that have cavemen fighting dinosaurs. The script, which Gibson co-authored with his co-producer Farhad Safinia, is a reworking of the old Cornell Wilde classic THE NAKED PREY. Along the way Gibson and Safinia paste in sequences they may have gotten from THE NAKED PREY, THE KILLING FIELDS, BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, A CONNECTICUT YANKEE IN KING ARTHUR'S COURT, and even WATERSHIP DOWN. To give the film an air of authenticity--one it really has no right at all to claim--Gibson films the entire film in the Mayan language. This is probably a first for a general release film and as such the film is to be commended. (According the to IMDB, the 2003 film VERA was also entirely in Maya, and parts of EL NORTE, MEN WITH GUNS, and this year's THE FOUNTAIN are in Maya.) But much of the air is lost when he has subtitles having Mayans saying modern things like "He's f**ked" and even making a verbal reference to MIDNIGHT COWBOY.
The film is the story of Jaguar Paw (played by Rudy Youngblood). He is an unassuming sort of guy who has mother-in-law problems and little respect from the rest of his tribe. He knows that other tribes in the area are fearful of something, but never bothers to find out what until it becomes clear. Suddenly his world is turned upside-down when his tribe is attacked by local Mayans. He hides his pregnant wife and son in a cistern hoping to pull them to safety when the attack has passed. It does not pass and most of his tribe is killed. Jaguar Paw is lashed to a pole and marched with others of his tribe to a Mayan city. He comes to realize that he is to be a sacrifice to entertain a crowd. Luckily fate smiles on him and he finds himself running for his life with ten or so Mayan warriors chasing him through the forest.
The plot is full of absurdities. Jaguar Paw has had a spear go into his back and come out his front. This should be a fatal injury. But he escapes and still has the strength to outrun a jaguar. (Well, unless there are black jaguars that I don't know about, it is actually a panther that has somehow found herself on the wrong continent.) A jaguar is not the fastest cat, but it probably can do 35 miles per hour in sprints and the wounded Jaguar Paw is apparently able to do better than that. Jaguar Paw is light on his feet and light in general. At least he is light enough to float in water. His wife, however, appears to be heavier than water for reasons never explained. (And, no, pregnancy would not have this effect.)
Mel Gibson the director is probably cheating himself by employing Mel Gibson the writer. His script is largely warmed-over bits from other films. However, this is a production designer's and art director's film. Though most of the film takes place in the forest, Tom Sanders and Roberto Bonelli have given us a very nice representation of what a Mayan city would have looked like and some of the feel of what it must have been like to be in one. However, Gibson then makes life in the city seem a revelry and orgy, not a lot different from the decadence in Fellini's SATYRICON or perhaps the Golden Calf sequence in THE TEN COMMANDMENTS. There is one major difference. This revelry includes human sacrifices, which Gibson shows us in loving detail, having the priest grab the still-beating heart and tastefully hold it out for a camera close-up. (Thank Kukulk'an the film is not in 3-D!)
Gibson has openly said that the film was made to show parallels between a civilization that has human religious sacrifice and one that sends its children to fight in Iraq. He sees this film as a political protest. He is welcome to make such a political protest whenever he likes but to give such a distorted view of the Mayans to vent his rage is a poor strategy. If he wants to argue against the Iraq war, he should come right out and do it.
This is a period and place of history that has been neglected by films and a good film about the Pre-Columbian New World would be very good. However, in spite of its high production values and higher pretensions, APOCALYPTO is really just a gory matinee actionfest. I rate it a 0 on the -4 to +4 scale or 4/10. An assistant professor of archeology discusses the inaccuracies of the film at
<http://www.archaeology.org/online/reviews/apocalypto.html>.
Mark R. Leeper
[email protected]
Copyright 2006 Mark R. Leeper
Originally posted in the rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup. Copyright belongs to original author unless otherwise stated. We take no responsibilities nor do we endorse the contents of this review.
