I might have enjoyed Apocalypto more if I had an inkling of what the film was about. The Mayan background was so unexpected, I took a long time getting used to it. And in the interval I was whining – I really don’t want to know about the Mayans. As it turned out however, Gibson was not really talking about the Mayans. They just made an interesting reference point. The film is essentially about very basic issues and it always takes genius to point us to the basics.
The film begins with a tapir hunt in the dense south American forests. We meet the handsome hero “Jaguars Paw”, his father - the chief, and his brother and friends. Post the hunt, they meet another group of people who appear terrified as they seek permission to pass through and move to other lands. Jaguars Paw is troubled and his father takes him aside, telling him not to let fear encroach on his mind.
Life for this small community is very simple and idyllic. The humour which would otherwise seem invasive of privacy to us modern, urban souls is clearly good-natured. There is a joy to the simplicity of life that Gibson effectively portrays.
But the peace is soon shattered in an utterly brutal manner and Jaguars paw is suddenly faced with a reality that he has absolutely no control over.
Gibson’s film articulates its idea in the beginning by saying that no civilisation is defeated from without before it has first destroyed itself from within. He contrasts the great Mayan civilisation and its advanced lifestyle with the basic life of the tribals. While the insatiable greed of the former destroys everything around it, the latter has to bear the far-flung repercussions of it. An increasingly comfortable lifestyle demands very often an indifference to other people. In fact, sacrificing other people for the continuing access to luxury becomes inevitable. If that was true of the Mayans, it is true even today. Instead of seeking rational solutions, the exigencies of political situations demand populist and ultimately self-defeating solutions.
For sheer watchability the chase sequence in the film has got be among the best ever. The powerful yet real looking men, the natural environment, make the thrill of the chase something else.
What is fascinating about the film is the way Gibson has captured the raw beauty of humanness. There is the heroically calm mother who has to somehow get her child and herself out of an impossible situation. There is the young girl child who tells her heartbroken mother to “not worry” and she would take care of the other children. There is the dignity of a father who is killed in front of his son and whose main concern is that his son realises the need for courage in a numbingly horrifying situation. There is so much indignity and yet there is the human ability to rise above it.
The last scene of the wife and child in the pit is superbly shot and enacted. Incidentally the faces Gibson has chosen for the various roles are very apt and heighten the impact of the film. Also Gibson clearly has some strong spiritual beliefs about Family. They are reflected in various ways in the film and elevate the tone of the film.
A memorable film.