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My review of the film Apocalypto
Version 0.1
Copyright (C) 2008 by Zachary T Smith
All rights reserved.

Acting: ****
Plot: ****
Story: ****
Dialog: ****
Direction: *****

Apocalypto is Mel Gibson's movie about the doings of a tribesman during the Aztec empire in Mexico. It's the sort of movie that ought to be made more frequently, because as far as I know, it depicts the world of the Aztecs realistically, even if doing so is not politically correct.

The story begins with the comfortable life of members of a tribe that's based in the jungle: A hunting trip, a feast, and a strange interaction with a tribe that is on the run after their village was devastated. Unfortunately, the first tribe does not heed the warning that was implied. Soon after the tribe is virtually wiped out, the remaining members taken away to become victims of the Aztec blood cult.

It should be noted that Gibson himself belongs to a Catholic organization that has some pretty intense views. It should also be noted that the Catholic church's record in Central and South America is said by some to have been in alliance with dictators who were themselves blood-thirsty. All the more reason why this is an interesting film.

The film also serves to counter the bogus claims of radical Mexicans, both in America and in Mexico, who as with all radicals have sought to rewrite history. They particularly like to portray the "bronze people" (their own racist term) also known as "the race" (la Raza) as innocents maligned by blood-thirsty European invaders. What is depicted in this film is much closer to what historians and archeologists know to be the truth.

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