CriticSociety- film reviews

Review

Apocalypto

Director

Mel Gibson

Year

2006

Rating

Reviewed by

José Ruiloba a.k.a. Morris

Review date

Monday, February 12, 2007

I have no interest whatsoever in dealing with Mel Gibson as a person, since the man is one hell of an actor and a director and those sides of him are the ones I want to focus on. So let’s get that out of the way first and foremost and go straight into what I’m here to talk about. As I look back I still can’t believe Gibson’s (and Disney’s) guts in getting this film made. A movie about Mayans and spoken in an incomprehensible dialect? Man, I love when filmmakers take risks, and this is one worth the effort.

Jaguar Paw’s (Rudy Youngblood) village is attacked and completely destroyed, but he manages to hide his pregnant wife Seven (Dalia Hernández) and his son before he is captured by Snake Ink (Rodolfo Palacios) and his terrifying boss Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo). Along with other slaves, he is taken to their attackers’ village, where they are to be sacrificed. But Jaguar Paw has only one thing in mind: to escape and rescue his family.

Gibson not only directed, but he wrote the screenplay along with Farhad Safinia. Whoever is expecting a history lesson will be sorely disappointed; this is unabashed escapism. Apart from an unexpected, yet fascinating, historic scene near the end there’s nothing here other than mere non-stop action sequences. Gibson tries to imbue Apocalypto with metaphors regarding hostile societies and the futileness of war, saying that a civilization cannot be conquered until it is rotten from the inside, but really... these are mere afterthoughts.

I have read countless reviews accusing the movie of being excessively violent. I don’t get people who complain about this. A movie is what it is, and complaints about violence say more about you than what it says about the movie. I am one who chuckles at the sight of blood and exposed organs, but if I can’t stand it then why am I seeing the movie in the first place? Some people also love to psychoanalyze the director regarding his fascination with suffering, and even if he does have a fetish, he’s incorporating it into good stories and making sense out of it. Mayans, as most ancient civilizations, were violent people (among other things, good and bad), and when you have a movie about good vs. evil with this setting as a background I don’t see why the graphicness should be considered exploitative. There are over-the-top moments, yes, but any action flick from the 90’s is way sicker.

Apocalypto is divided in three acts, the first of which establishes the characters and takes a while to get going. Then comes the attack, which is horrific and absolutely harrowing, and we’re off to one hell of a ride. The third act is literally a rush of adrenaline; tension-filled and (somewhat) unpredictable, with the Mexican jungles playing another character altogether. Gibson certainly knows how to shoot a movie, and his passion is palpable out of every frame.

Dean Semler’s photography is extraordinary for the most part, although I didn’t like some action bits in which you realize the movie was shot using digital technology. These instances somehow take you out of the moment. James Horner uses the most out of drums and delivers a fitting score. But it is the costume design and make-up that leave the strongest impression. Breathtaking work.

The actors are uniformly good, with expressive Rudy Youngblood a perfect choice for the lead. Dalia Hernández is also good as his wife, and Morris Birdyellowhead leaves a strong impression as his father.

“My sons and their sons will hunt here after I am gone.”

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Review

Apocalypto

Director

Mel Gibson

Year

2006

Rating

Reviewed by

Gon Curiel a.k.a. Groucho

Review date

Tuesday, February 06, 2007

As I do with most movies, I walked into Apocalypto knowing as little as I could about it, but for some reason I was lighthearted; maybe I owed that to the fact that I’d heard people saying it was fun, and being sure that a dense movie about Mayans couldn’t be easily tagged like that by most. Indeed, right away I started having fun, and I kept having fun all the way, while I grew to understand that there’s very little seriousness in this flick, but lots of exciting set pieces.

In fact, my main after-thought was that this is an action film like any other, only disguised as a movie about Mayans. It is not about Mayans, in fact it contains so many historical inaccuracies that it almost deliberately provokes indignation. A few rituals and a couple of customs could be easily substituted by more modern stuff and the lead actor be Bruce Willis instead of unknown Rudy Youngblood and there you have it: an average Hollywood action film. But no, Mel Gibson doesn’t go that way, and frankly I think he’s wise not to. Apocalypto is obviously a film that calls attention to itself because it makes people wonder how it could be greenlighted in the first place. Some people are curious, go to see it, and are rewarded with entertainment, then they recommend it to their friends because they’re so happy they were able to endure such a peculiar film and walk out thrilled. Talk about a formula for success! I admire the effort.

Let’s not demerit the film though. The fact that it was filmed in the jungle and starred by unknowns and spoken in an incomprehensible dialect is a triumph, sure is. There’s passion scene by scene, it shows and pops out of the screen more often than not. The story is quite guttural and effective, dealing with a town being savaged by another and its inhabitants turned into slaves or prostitutes. The story is clearly defined in three acts that are thoroughly enjoyable on their own, the first introducing the setting and characters, the second presenting the battle and further submission of a whole town, and the third action-filled as the hero struggles to return to his family which he hid. Simple storytelling in an awe-inducing fictional world.

The star is Jaguar Paw (Youngblood) who learns a lot from his wise father Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead) in his way to becoming a strong patriarch himself. When another town savages theirs, Jaguar Paw acts wisely by hiding his wife Seven (Dalia Hernández) and their little son Turtles Run (Carlos Emilio Báez) in a cave hole from which they can’t emerge unless someone helps them. Despite his struggles in battle, Jaguar Paw, along with most of his friends and family, is captured, humiliated and taken away to fulfill a new destiny. But he’s determined not to submit to that fate.

The script by Gibson and Farhad Safinia has numerous flaws and clichés, including a couple of deus ex machina cheats that miraculously solve hopeless situations in crucial moments (the most notable involves an astronomical phenomenon). However, it’s beautifully handled by the director, sumptuously accompanied by James Horner’s score, and acted to perfection by the entire cast, particularly Youngblood and Jonathan Brewer, the latter playing the most sensible character in the film, distressed in his everyday life but facing battle and torture like few would. Gerardo Taracena is also quite good as the film’s main villain, Middle Eye.

But the main stars here are the makeup and the costumes; impressive work all the way. Some scenes showing big cities are also breath-taking. You almost forget you’re just watching an average Hollywood flick in a pretty disguise.

“My son... don’t be afraid.”

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