Apocalypto

I was going to begin this review by saying that Mel Gibson made his movie a few years ago, when he made "Braveheart". I was going to go on by saying that he poured his heart into that project, and that emotion made the movie more powerful. I decided that it would be best not to begin that way, because it might lead you to believe that "Apocalypto" is a lesser movie, without fairly explaining myself. So, I'm going to break down what I thought about "Apocalypto" and just leave "Braveheart" out of the discussion.

"Apocalypto" is great at what it tries to be. It is a simple story of a man, who loves his family, is faced with some rough situations, but is determined to triumph against all odds. What I really liked was how Mel Gibson places us in the jungle, with the tribesmen, and the story unfolds smoothly, naturally, right in front of us. We are in the jungle from the first moment, no subtitles explaining what the deal is. There are tribesmen, men who act like men, who have families, annoying relatives, barking dogs. The story doesn't seem forced or scripted, we feel as though we have joined these people in the middle of their lives, and the turning point that comes is unexpected to them and we understand that. Without giving away too much of the story, I will say that the main character finds himself alone, seperated from his family, outnumbered by enemies bent on killing him. This is where Mel Gibson as the director takes a little liberty, and intervenes on his hero's behalf. It sort of rminded me of "Signs", where the details by themselves may seem random, as a whole it is undeniably Divine intervention. Gibson uses some pretty heavy symbolism, which I must admit that I'm not completely sure on all the meaning. Good symbolism is interesting even if you don't get it though, and I like what he did here. There is also an amazingly well choreographed chase scene, which I won't talk about too much except to say that I love when you can see what is happening, know what is going to happen next, and everything is shot so well and put together so beautifully, that you actually feel satisfaction when the scene is over. The scene I just refered to does include what I'd like to talk about next, and something I know my mom has a concern for Mel Gibson over; violence. Gibson's previously mentioned film, this film, and "The Passion of the Christ" all have graphic, realistic violence. Before Gibson was a director, of course he made the Mad Max movies and the Letahl weapon movies, which all had some pretty intense "action" violence. Is Gibson attracted to violence? I can see my mom's concern. I think there's somewhere in the Bible that warns us against such behavior and people. But what about "The Passion", doesn't that in and of itself make up for a multitude of sins? I believe, thus far in his latter career, Gibson is taking on meaningful projects that do show a maturity that most likely reflects a change of heart. As far as I know, Mel has never killed anybody, or even given anyone a good beatdown. Perhaps he is not violent, and the use of violence in his most recent films is actually beneficial. Braveheart recognizes the ultimate sacrifice for one's beliefs. "The Passion" attempted to give an account of what Jesus really went through as a sacrifice for us. And now, Gibson has used violence to comment on the downfall of a civilization, and that to live in peace is good. I still think that mom's concern is valid. Perhaps Mel should direct the next Pixar movie, and let whoever directed "Happy Feet" make the next Roman war epic or whatever.