The next film on my Netflix queue was available instantly, so I am essentially watching two movies-of-the-week this week. Actually, I've been a movie-watching fiend this weekend, having the typical post-show crash mixture of weariness with a smidge of illness, so I haven't ventured out into the world much (except to see a show on stage and to go to the Grand Awards...Grand Rapids' version of the Tonys). Yet, once again, I digress. I seem to still be trudging through Oscar nominees of two years ago, since Apocalypto was nominated for best Foreign Language film and best Makeup. It didn't win either, though it was directed by Mel Gibson.
I wasn't quite sure what to expect of this film. I can't say I was partiuclarly fond of Gibson's last film-making effort, The Passion of the Christ, and not just because crazy Mel seems to have some anti-Semitic sentiments after all. That movie was violent and ran with an interpretation of the story that got a lot of people riled up - either for or against the images projected on film - so that by the time I saw it, I was over it pretty quickly and wasn't enticed by what I saw on film. What I can say about The Passion is at least it was focused, even centered. Apocalypto is more scattered; it doesn't find its focus until halfway through the film. It's also more violent, unbelievably, than The Passion. You can probably detect that I didn't particularly enjoy this movie either.
The plot - what there is of one - is pretty simplistic. Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is the member of a peaceful Mayan tribal village in an idyllic forest. He is content to hunt with his father, provide for his young family, and tease his younger brother for being unable to bear children. Suddenly, the village is attacked by another tribe prone to ritual worship and sacrifice. The attackers capture and kill villagers for this purpose. Jaguar Paw becomes one of the captives but not before he ushers his very pregnant wife and young son down a deep well and to relative safety. The film afterward essentially becomes a glorified chase movie, as Jaguar Paw fights for his survival and the survival of his family, who become trapped in the well.
This film was unflinchingly violent, needlessly long, and unnecessarily convoluted, not to mention thin on story. When I first started the movie, I did not know what to expect, and I had no predilections about Mr. Gibson or any element of his film. It didn't take long before I had some arguably violent reactions of my own, such as "What the hell is going on?" and "Yikes, that was graphic." I felt angry most of the time watching this film, and I didn't stop feeling angry until the film finally found its focus - or, more accurately, when Jaguar Paw found his, i.e. the safety of his family and himself.
The production elements were decent. The makeup was actually extremely convincing, and I was fascinated by the use of old Mayan dialects, which were the subject of the film's pre-release press (other than Mr. Gibson's relative insanity). I think that these elements were the most impressive part of the film, in that this ancient civilization was given a convincing and believable visual treatment on film. The photography of jungle and forest locations was decent, and the digital renderings of old Mayan temples were kind of cool. James Horner was responsible for the score, which would sound kind of unique had it not kind of reminded me of Legends of the Fall, which he also composed.
I just couldn't get into the film because it served to make me more skeptical than when I started. I was never at the edge of my seat until the final cat-and-mouse sequence, and that was because I only cared about Jaguar Paw's family at that point, who was actually given the better end of the storytelling stick. I also felt every minute of the running time; contrary to the All Movie Guide's assessment, I actually felt the pacing was a bit choppy, and the massacres were so protracted, I became desensitized to them, and the horror of the unknown as to what was happening next was lost on me amidst the confusion of what was going on and the resulting boredom. The intended emotional resonance was lost for me in the overdramatic quality of these scenes. Finally, the ending of the film was anticlimactic and even a little didactic, to the point that I was just happy when the film finally ended.
What am I saying ultimately? I think this film is pretty mediocre, even run-of-the-mill, with a bit of a twist and a decidedly unusual motif that hasn't really been filmed before, so it gets points for originality. Also, this category of movie is decidedly not my fave, so if I watch one, it had better be at least a little impressive. For me, I was kind of unimpressed watching Apocalypto. I feel this movie warrants a 5.5 for being between utterly mediocre and cute but mediocre. The half point is the award for originality of the premise and the attention paid to painting a historically accurate visual portrait, but the subtraction of almost five points comes from the fact that the visual picture did not make me like the film in lieu of its lack of story and "meh" technical elements (aside from the makeup). Also, this film does not pass the test. I think it's obvious why. Apocalypto is a spectacle, that much is certain, but it may not be a spectacle worth watching in the end. I leave it to you, gentle reader, to make that decision.
PS The irony is not lost on me that I watched this film right after watching Apocalypse Now. I assure you that this is a complete coincidence, despite their similar names - it's all in the timing of the various lists I'm working through. Ironically, neither one of them really deal with any sort of true apocalypse, though. That's food for thought.