"The Aztecs.. The Mayansss... Ohh My!"

[Theocrat]

Anyone seen Apocalypto yet?
I think the movie is a disaster, when it comes to the truth at least.
Tribal leaders and the academic community rightfully show their scorn for this "postmodern hodge-podge" of a movie.
Anyone with an inch of history, or night classes on anthropology, could see the farse (or bad research). It's not even a good action movie when it comes to that.
WHY did he NOT make the movie about Aztecs instead of the Mayans?
That culture would have been right up his alley with violent content.

Regardless.. I hope interest in meso-american culture will not be lost.
And there seems to be something brewing in mexico and guatemala.
A producer behind Lord Of The Rings, has what it seems had a talk *unverified* with a tribal eldar about making a more accurate movie about these exotic and ancient peoples which have survived to the present.

[lemec]

Hi,Theocrat!

I know you were looking forward to this movie for a long time.

I am sorry you had to be dissapointed.

I have no reason to go see it now, it sounds like i is very bad.

I'll wait for the good one!

Thanks! -I will save that $20.00 for the dvd now,hehe!

[devilchicken]

After seeing it I started wondering whether perhaps Mel Gibson has some sort of sadistic violence fetish, seeing the films he has directed thus far all feature graphic scenes of death and mutilation. Somehow I don't see him doing a "charming" romantic comedy any time soon.

The worst part of the movie for me was an absolutely lazy resort to cliche about half-way through.

That eclipse thing really was lazy IMO. The scriptwriters must have been wracking their brains how to get Jaguar Paw out of that situation, and having already shown the all of the "urban" Maya to be irredeemably bloodthirsty they couldn't rely on any "human emotions" on the part of the people to spare him. Incidentally, the ancient Maya had a fairly advanced understanding of astronomy - so there's some question as to whether they would have grovelled in front an eclipse. In the end, the scene relies on "fuzzy-wuzzy" cliche that isn't too far removed from 40's Tarzan films or H. Rider Haggard.

The quote they used at the outset of the movie to express its message didn't really seem appropriate either. Seeing as the average person doesn't know much about Meso-American history and culture outside of the most salacious elements (namely the human sacrifice), so what exactly are you are supposed to draw from this (highly visual) spectacle about the decline of a culture that is about as far removed from ours as the ancient Japanese feudal system?

For my money I'd say that you get a better sense of social collapse from say, The Children Of Man - which is much easier to relate to.

In fact I'd have preferred it if Mel had done a film version of that old French/Japanese kids cartoon The Mysterious Cities of Gold - with the Erich Von Daniken sub-plot.

[DeeCrowSeer]

In fact I'd have preferred it if Mel had done a film version of that old French/Japanese kids cartoon The Mysterious Cities of Gold - with the Erich Von Daniken sub-plot.

And the original theme tune! Rockin'!! "Children of the sun, now your time has just begun..."

I do have a passing interest in Meso-America, and did get quite excited when I saw the trailers, but still couldn't bring myself to go out and see the film itself, because (as suggested) above, we all have reasons to distrust the way that big-budget films (and I won't say "Hollywood", because it probably happens all over) present "history". I don't want to open old threads regarding other films, but clealry it's never enough simply to have a fascinating, torn-from-the-history-books tale to tell. Writers and directors have their own agendas (benign or otherwise), and there are always commerical considerations tilting the arm.

But the same thing can happen with documentaries, which feature actual footage of live events, so it's no surprise that such an epic recreation can start to drift away from the path marked "Actuality".

[Pietro_Mercurios]

After seeing it I started wondering whether perhaps Mel Gibson has some sort of sadistic violence fetish, seeing the films he has directed thus far all feature graphic scenes of death and mutilation. ...

Gibson does indeed have an unhealthy interest in homo erotic and voyeuristic sadomasochism. It's not just your imagination. it pours out of his films. Apocalypto was actually part of a fairly predictable creative arc.

I dread to think what will come next! Though, he'll probably take a step back from the edge of the Abyss (doesn't that open up after the Apocalypse?), and go for something a bit more penitent next, given the reception of his recent drunken anti-Semitic rant.

Even, What Women Want (2000), touches on it. All that touchy feely stuff about a hard faced, advertising exec. getting in touch with his feminine side, by voyeuristically listening in to the minds of women, to find out what they really think of him. Did I mention narcissism?