Film: Apocalypto
Release date: 11th June 2007
Certificate: 18
Running time: 132 mins
Director: Mel Gibson
Starring: Raoul Trujillo, Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Jonathan Brewer, Morris Birdyellowhead
Genre: Action/Adventure/Drama
Studio: Icon
Format: DVD
Country: USA
The late 16th century brought an end to the enigmatic Mayan civilisation, which dominated Colombia and its neighbouring countries as far back as 2000BC. Their decline remains one of the great archaeological mysteries: the Mayans were fabled for their forward thinking, particularly in their use of mathematics, which enabled them to formulate unrivalled astronomical knowledge. However, they were unable to prepare for the combination of factors which contributed to their demise, which are still debated today. One of the most commonly attributed reasons for their decline is the Spanish colonisation, which spanned many centuries. Apocalypto investigates this theory further, providing a snapshot of Mayan civilisation in its twilight.
The spotlight focuses on the plight of Jaguar Paw and his immediate family. Whilst on their daily hunt they encounter a local tribe drawn in a similar vein, bringing with them tales of impending invasion and capture. Choosing to ignore the warnings, Jaguar Paw and family return home, and in next to no time, find themselves to be the next victims of a violent uprising.
Jaguar Paw hides his pregnant wife and son in the nick of time (his quest to get back to them provides an overriding story arc), but finds himself isolated from them in the scenes which follow, as he is taken to the Mayan city; an agglomeration of evil, the stench of death and disease emanating off the screen. Human sacrifice becomes the order of the day, and a nauseating sadness inevitably accompanies subjecting one’s self to the epic torture scenes, as we briefly bond with one or two secondary characters, but only as a means of accentuating our sorrow at their visceral treatment at the hands of the Shaman-like leader.
The situation appears hopeless, but in a single moment of good fortune in amongst the tumultuous evil (a twisted scene in which Jaguar Paw and his remaining fellow captives are treated as human game), an opportunity of escape presents itself.
What follows for Jaguar Paw is a test of both endurance and guile, as Gibson turns up the heat in a series of pulsating chase scenes, which will have audiences casting their minds back to the archetypal hunter vs. hunted films of old. The dynamic between predator and prey is reversed in several set pieces, in which the chasing pack is subjected to Jaguar Paw’s expansive knowledge of the forest, via a plethora of jungle-inspired booby traps.
Meanwhile, his abandoned wife and son encounter their own complications, who find themselves at the mercy of nature and the elements, which may prove detrimental to the film’s intentions of an emotional reunion at its climax…
One of the things that will strike audiences is the distinct lack of dialogue from minute one. Perhaps the intention here is that the action scenes are allowed to dominate as a result, but there is also another direct result - we are never given an opportunity to understand the enemy. Motive is never made clear, and this helps us to develop disdain for the evil, and empathy with the protagonists.
We are kept guessing throughout, as characters the audience might expect to make the final reel are cast aside, and often in very gruesome ways. No cost is spared when it comes to gore factor, and the harrowing death scenes develop empathy with those left alive. It is also worth noting the lack of a limelight-stealing actor, as this gives the characters a vulnerable human edge.
The absence of A-list personnel within the cast may be as simple as cost-cutting, but one suspects this decision runs deeper. Think Tom Cruise in The Last Samurai, where the larger-than-life actor, though unquestionably popular, inadvertently steals the thunder from the teachings of a mysterious culture. Perhaps in the ilk of 300, in which Gerard Butler does justice to the lead role without detracting from the heroic nature of the narrative, Gibson adopts a subtler approach by electing the little-known Rudy Youngblood to play the central character, Jaguar Paw.
Gibson’s second foreign cinema effort takes a less controversial stance than his first, the both positively and negatively acclaimed The Passion Of The Christ, but packs a similarly raw punch. Apocalypto maintains a break-neck speed throughout, and as a result its running time (140 mins) feels much shorter. The gripping chase scenes, and the imaginative ways in which Jaguar Paw disposes of his assailants will linger most in the memory.
Mel Gibson may have proved to be his own worst enemy when it comes to earning the appreciation of the critical media, however, with Apocalypto he meticulously conjures a lost world the audience can identify with, namely in the timeless staples of human nature: pride, passion and, foremost, familial loyalty. MC
