I recently viewed Disney's heart pounding Apocalypto and was once again impressed with good ole goy Mel's ability to spin an engaging, adrenalin filled and entertaining yarn, albeit historically questionable and slanted towards savagery. Considering the Mayan people mastered astronomy, architecture, mathematics, writing and other significant, high-functioning components of that culture, and that he barely even touches on it, was a short sighted decision. They were a fascinating, gifted, brutal people that ruled their expansive region of east Central America for over 4000 years. Compare that to the USA's 231 year, relatively adolescent timeline and you get the perspective. It took the Mayans four millenniums of permeation and self-gorging success to rot from the inside out, largely and apparently due to corruption and decadence. I wonder if we will be around in another 3,769 years, especially considering where we are as an empire in the rot from the inside out barometer?
In essence, the film is a distinctive three-act pop,-period adventure epic, with no stars, spoken in the Mayan Yucatan dialect (with subtitles) and offering a startlingly effective look at a wondrous civilization that has never been cinematic ally explored and presented to the world. Gibson really gets a good portion of this section right with visually stirring images and sweeping vistas of day to day Mayan life including meticulous rituals atop sacrificial pyramids, a functioning praetorian civilization complete with a labor and trade economy, and distinguished class structure, including a spoiled rotten Paris Hilton of that time who actually spits in a stricken beggars cup. The story, very much steeped in Joseph Campbell's structure of The Hero's Journey, is a little more simple-minded than it could (and should) have been. Most of the archetype characters and plot lines are present; the athletic, charismatic hero's and his civilization saving call (or in this case violent thrust) to duty, the dying father and his loyalty bond to his heroic son, the classic evil and cunning antagonist, the harrowing tasks/battles/journey of said hero, even the lovely damsel in distress. Regarding Mel's obvious blood-lust; I will forgive any epic film's prostitution of carnage and for that matter showing weak character development and motivation, as well as a limited dimensional perspective, as long as the film is entertaining and somewhat thought provoking, which it is.
There is essentially no reason to illustrate the specifics of the storyline, suffice to say it is speculative savage Central American history, structured neatly in formulaic Campbell parameters and such a textbook example of narrative economy that Sid Fields would undoubtedly be proud. Despite the Mayan dialect (or perhaps partially because of), the film is entirely accessible, with just enough classical allusions and cliffhanging action to make it-excessive gratuitous carnage notwithstanding-extremely riveting and emotionally evocative. As such, I would much rather examine the ending, which subtly suggests that the newly arrived Spanish missionaries were saviors and could liberate the Mayans from their own savagery. First off, everyone knows Mel and his old man are extreme, devout Catholics. A pre-disposed biased view to say the least. Second, no one really knows what decimated the great Mayan civilization. Certain indicators suggest crop scarcity or just plain abandonment. We do know it was fast and it was resolute. Indeed, they practiced savage and primitive sacrifice rituals, as several of the pre-Columbian indigenous people did in Mesoamerica, but I cannot think of one constituency of native people that the missionaries actually helped. From enslaving the populace to the destruction of cultures and history, to forced icon worship, to the stripping ownership of their homeland, to the involuntary spreading of European diseases. This was their net contribution. History has proven what the missionaries were offering, as noble as this gift appeared to them as bearers, was ultimately genocide. From the Constantine era of politically practical Christianity, right up to the Bush eras far right Christian fundamentalists, and the increasingly perceived corruption of this as well as the Vatican and the Catholic Church. I have seen no reason for this faith to be force fed to any civilization, no-matter how brutal some of their rituals may appear to us. At least the Mayan people respected and lived as one with their surroundings and made sacred the animals they hunted for food and materials. Savagery and symbolic iconography aside, my gut tells me all natives indigenous to their North, Central and South American continents, were much more spiritually and mystically connected to their land and well-being then Christianity or Catholicism could ever help them be. If a civilization is going to rot from the inside out, perhaps it is more prudent to let it happen at it's own pace. (Read; Iraq liberation.) One culture should never forcefully impose it's own dogma and symbolism or lifestyle on another, it ultimately amputates the genuine spirit of the one being imposed. Sacrificing humans from atop a grand temple in downtown Chitchenitza is not much different from sacrificing them on the battlefields of a country we have no business trying to impose our force on.
Overall, the film is a fast paced, breathtaking experience. Bloody, flawed and slanted, yet it is ultimately irresistible old fashion escapism. And say what you want about Mel's naive piousness, jumbled politics and pub drenched ethnocentric ranting; the man is a lightning rod and veritable cinematic poet of our time. Like the film itself he is epic, and flawed, yet irresistible. He knows how to tell a story and never loses grasp of his primary objective; to make 2 1/2 hours pass like lighting and at the same time attempt to make some kind of thought provoking statement about secular religion, mythic culture, viral brutality and corrupt politics. For his informal triptych has done all of this and more. Bravo to Mel for consistently delivering as a filmmaker with bold and arresting storytelling and action, as well as magnificent and spellbinding visions.
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