A Review by Phil Calabro
2006, Touchstone Pictures, Dir. Mel Gibson - Starring Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Jonathan Brewer, Morris Birdyellowhead, Carlos Emilio Baez, Ramirez Amilcar, Israel Contreras, Israel Rios, María Isabel Díaz, Raoul Trujillo, Rodolfo Palacios
Note: This review is not going to be a diatribe against Mel Gibson's anti-Semitism. If I was asked to write critical analysis on Mel Gibson and not 'Apocalypto', then that'd be a whole different ballgame. But until then, it's criticism on the art, not the artist.
Let's put the hype aside. Mel Gibson's latest project 'Apocalypto' is a fantastic film in and of itself, working as a combination of political allegories and thrilling action. Unlike 'Passion of the Christ', this is not one of the director's indulgences, but rather an argumentative piece exploring the themes of wartime, loyalty, and fear. Set in an untold period before the Spanish conquest of South America, the film depicts the Mayan civilization on the brink of collapsing, leading to a domino effect of suspicion and anxiety amongst the tribe. Gibson's trademarks are easily noticeable, especially the use of the virtually extinct Mayan language and his love for gratuitous bloodshed. Certainly, 'Apocalypto' will be a jarring and unexpected experience for some moviegoers, but there is plenty to enjoy and ponder. Employing the newcomer Rudy Youngblood as our persecuted hero, the controversial director's newest work poses a rhetorical question to audiences, and miraculously explains it through one of film's most inspiriting chase sequences.
In a small Mayan village, Jaguar Paw (Youngblood) lives peacefully with his pregnant wife Seven (Hernandez) and son Turtles Run (Baez). Like all males of the tribe, they hunt to provide for food and other goods. But when groups of ominous tribespeople start treading their ways through the village, Jaguar Paw knows something dangerous is forthcoming. After all, he has a responsibility - to raise a large family like his wise father Flint Sky (Birdyellowhead), and set an example for the village. After an omen in his dreams, our hero awakes one morning only to find a group of villainous Holcane soldiers arriving at their jungle abodes. Their purpose - kill, rape, pillage, and take the best sacrificial lambs to the empirical plazas. Led under the tight rein of Zero Wolf (Trujillo) and his deputy Snake Ink (Palacios), Jaguar Paw is forced to leave behind Seven and Turtles Run, determined to not let the empire's collective paranoia of the sun gods turn him away from his family. As the journey unravels, our protagonist's motives slowly begin to draw away from fear and towards independence and pride - but will be able to withstand the whim of the great Mayan dictator?
Youngblood is a prime choice for the role of Jaguar Paw: young, bold, and authentic. Despite his learning the ancient Mayan language and habits for the role, the actor successfully transforms himself from the average hunter into the oppressed prisoner and back into a courageous and revenge-driven action hero. These are characters drawn to the most rudimentary of performances, basing their actions merely off historical documents and analysis. For his first screen role ever, Youngblood triumphs. In the same note, so does Raoul Trujillo, who gives a rousing yet despicable act as the hatemongering leader Zero Wolf. Despite attaining a lower rank in the Mayan government, the enemy's own political mania surfaces through Trujillo's acting. He represents evil - a blindsided, jingoistic drone for an anxious civilization on the verge of a social cataclysm. Also noteworthy is Rodolfo Palacios as Snake Ink, an embittered peon whose pleasure for torture is a sight to cringe at. Jonathan Brewer should be mentioned for his comic relief role Blunted, whose inpotentency misfortunes brew laughter for the village, but have an odd dramatic comeback later in the film.
Gibson's eye for sweeping landscapes and rainforests of Catemaco is strong, allowing the rich blue and yellow skies to mix with the palate of adobe and greenery. Like its material, 'Apocalypto' has a continuously dark theme - much of the action springs through wooded areas, and climaxes through a solar eclipse. James Horner's haunting instrumental score pervades all dramatic sequences, and the choice of percussion gives a rattling sensation for the chase sequence. On the topic, the film opens with the quote by Will Durant pondering "a civilization that cannot destroy itself without until it destroys itself within." Gibson bridges this concept with what appears to be a creative analogy to the current Iraq War, and furthermore, war in general. From the introduction of a threat to the Mayans, leading to the sacrifice of strong Mayans for appeasement, and then to the fight for survival by those who stand against this anxiety, Gibson intelligently - and backhandedly - summarizes a philosophical discussion into a chase scene that will dazzle any action aficionado.
'Apocalypto' is a sure contender for one of 2006's best films, as it broadly argues a heavy-hitting topic through an environment never intricately explored on the silver screen. It's not for the weak of heart, and not for those who'll go any distance to argue the film's quality through the director's own controversies. This is a hybrid experiment if I ever saw one.
