The nature of man changes not, as much as we don't like to admit it. Even before we became the dominant species, destruction and ruin followed wherever we went. The now extinct neanderthal for example, met its end around 40 000 years before Christ due to various reasons, one of which being... well our ancestors either killing them or interbreeding. We came a long, long way since, to the expense of our planet but mainly ourselves. Each civilization that rose to power, no matter how powerful, fell spectacularly and this unflinching dynamic confirms the imminent ending that awaits. Such is the way of man. But with each ending, a new beginning arrives. This is the essence of Mel Gibson's masterpiece Apocalypto.
During the height of their power, during what's now called The Classic Period which lasted from 200 to 900 AD, the Maya civilization had a obsidian grip on the Yucatan peninsula. It was a complex network of powerful city states trading with each other. However there was no sense of unity, be it political or cultural for every city had its set of traditions, ethnic groups, history and specific deities. The technology, belief system, agricultural techniques, architecture, science and similar was shared or developed simultaneously due to trade routes being essential. Languages were also plenty but there was a dominant one spoken by the elite which they wrote in. It was a prosperous time but as we know or in the case of the Maya, don't know, something happened and the great civilization started to crumble.
It was a long, process with hundreds of years would pass before an occasional power shifts. It was evident that the once great empire was slowly dying. So with all the mystery surrounding their final fall which happened in the 17th century, it made it an ideal backdrop for Gibson to explore.
With 40 million dollars secured by the studio and an insanely ambitious vision which combined elements from almost all the periods, Gibson and the crew travelled to distant parts of Mexico and Guatemala to film and I'm here to tell you about the result.
To tell an effective action-centric story one must show peace and tranquillity first. The opening shot by criminally overlooked Dean Semler establishes the aesthetic of the Mesoamerican jungle. It's loud, rich, alien yet serene and as we slowly zoom in, the hunt begins. A lone tapir finds itself in sights of a hunting party and soon the first instance of death is shown. It's brutal, graceless and effective but it's not an issue as we can see survival is the priority of these jungle dwellers. They are far from advanced in technological terms but why should they need tools to conquer nature when it's nature that provides everything?
This sacred, unspoken pact and respect between our nameless tribespeople and Mother Nature is one of many things Apocalypto touches upon.
With the hunt done, it's time to share the spoils. A prank including tapir's balls, laughter, some things truly never change. Wait.
The trees feel more restless. Another group of people arrive. They are not hunters for fear pulsates from their souls and fear my friends is a sickness.
With the interaction done we go back to the camp and see how the rest of day looks. An elaborate dick joke, more laughter, mother-in-law being a dick to the husband, children playing, nice.
Night arrives and the elder tells a brilliant yet ominous story involving the nature of man. It mentions a hole that will never be filled, a thirst never quenched. No matter how much Man learns, he'll always take but never give. Another lesson and perhaps a sign of things to come?
With the sun climbing above the mountains, dawn arrives but this one will be colored red.
Warriors stalk the forests, why? Tension arises. Death ensues. It sweeps through the village. No matter what happens, one thing is clear. Their lives will never be the same.
Battle takes place and its savagery and lack of grace are riveting. Blood spurts out of heads, fire, rape, heaps of senseless violence. But within this brutality, deranged beauty exists.
"My son. Don't be afraid." says the father to his son. Those were the last words he uttered as his throat was slit before the son's very eyes.
The killer calls Jaguar Paw, the son of Flint Sky "Almost".
Vengeance has to be his. Not today, not tomorrow but one day.
The survivors are taken and children left to their own devices. A lone pregnant mother and her child were led to a hole to hide, they're Jaguar Paw's and he aimed to protect them. He operated however on fear and fear is, as we said, a sickness.
The manhunting party departs with the captured tribespeople, our tribespeople who did nothing to deserve this. The children follow their fathers, mothers and friends in hopes of survival but the warriors are having none of that and they force them away until the kids give up. How do you completely destroy something? Remove its legacy. Now that's brutal and Gibson knows it.
Eventually, we exit the lush jungle and enter a huge deforested zone clad in yellow and brown. In the field, a little girl with a strange rash on her face attempts to wake her deceased mother. Our tortured, exhausted party, by now a few people shorter, walks on by and for the first time, fear appears in the eyes of the captors. A prophecy is uttered by the girl:
"You fear me? So you should. All you who are vile. Would you like to know how you will die? The sacred time is near. Beware the blackness of day. Beware the man who brings the jaguar. Behold him reborn from mud and earth. For the one he takes you to will cancel the sky, and scratch out the earth. Scratch you out. And end your world. He's with us now. Day will be like night. And the man jaguar will lead you to your end."
While the key words are different, its tone is, to these pair of ears, decidedly Old Testament-like. One of the many brilliant and mad Gibson touches.
They're here to stay though as Apocalypto never stops talking to the viewer. Its main way of conveying messages happens not through dialogue but through its visuals.
And what an audio-visual feast this is. The reliance on sets, insane make up design and costumes as well as numerous filming techniques all brilliantly edited made Apocalypto barely age, just like the themes it tackles.
Here the color white, the one usually connected with purity and religion, represents something much different. Filth, slavery, suffering and the empty look of the limestone workers says more than any exposition dump ever will.
So with more to march, our dwindling tribe found its way into the city and here we see the full picture. These ruthless warriors don't capture because they want to, although certain members take great joy in inflicting pain, no. They do so because they have to. The ruling upper class is manipulating its people by organizing blood-soaked spectacles. Public sacrifice. Hearts extracted, heads chopped, bodies tumbling from the jagged pyramids. An orgy of violence.
Before those final steps though, a mark is due and its color blue.
The fate of the men is set in stone, it seems, while the surviving women sold. Or not, depending on how many years they got. Some end up not being bought like one mother-in-law. The once bitter and dismissive woman decides to follow the remnants of the pack and exchanges one final look with her daughter's husband. The legacy of her family walks to certain death for her daughter was killed in the raid. She is broken and he scared.
And fear is a sickness.
As the camera follows the group we see the chaotic, loud life in the city and each class has its own visual identity. Being hunter-gatherers, our group has next to no tattoos, the poorest as well, the middle class starts to get more elaborate as jade and strange symbols adorn their heads, the hairstyles too, become more complex.
Plenty of ethnic groups are showcased as well mirroring the reality that once was. A lot criticized Apocalypto for being historically inaccurate despite failing to realize that it was never about accurate historical portrayal. To err is human but the critics seem to be particularly well versed in that. Embarrassing.
So with all the steps taken, we reach the top of the step pyramid and there we see the faces responsible for this torturous journey. They look, excuse my French, fucking stunning. Thousands of extras, hundreds of make up artists, elaborate sets on multiple locations, all this for 40 million dollars? Am I the only one who finds that depressing as the current cinematic landscape is dominated by hundred fifty million plus of worth CGI-filled turds? No? Okay great.
Oh and while I'm not in the, let's call it narrator mode, I would like to point out that the entire film is spoken in Yucatec Mayan which makes everything feel that more genuine and raw. Speaking of raw, time to get sacrificed.
The fear and pain is visceral, just as much as the procedure itself. Heart goes out, head goes off and the whole body tumbles on down.
The royal family and the chaacs (priests) lead this dance where they attempt to appease Kukulcan, their god of rain, by sacrificing as much people as possible and it's a festival almost.
Brutal but oddly sophisticated. Jaguar Paw witnesses more deaths as his friend is placed on the altar and subsequently killed. He's next.
Finally. The suffering will end, he is scared though as the nacon (main priest) lifts the knife up in the air and aims at his ribcage. Suddenly, an eclipse. Ominous yet beautiful and just enough to save Jaguar Paw's life. A seemingly random yet very deus ex machina moment. His purpose is not yet fulfilled it seems as the gods are satiated with all the blood. Blood for the blood god as some say.
This eclipse proved to be another tool for the splendorous few to control the ragged many. Sounds familiar?
Suddenly freedom seems like a possibility. One simply has to reach the end of this clearing they've been taken to and run past a "finisher". The problem is that you're getting shot at by arrows, stones and spears and if they fail, the finisher, who happens to be the Zero Wolf's son, won't.
More death, Jaguar Paw is the only one left but alas an injury. Downed and with the finisher approaching, another twist of fate. His friend, the one he bullied with tapir balls pranks gives Paw a chance to escape and avenge his tribe. The friend dies but so does the finisher. The father stares at his son's corpse and looks to the wilderness. No words, only running. The hunt is on.
For a film with this much running and walking it's amazing how it never gets dull. Gibson and Semler captured movement like few ever did. The shifting perspectives. The sheer kinetic force of it all. Each jump is electrifying. Each limp depressing. Every step heavier than the previous. Apocalypto rarely stops moving and when it does, death ensues.
With so much death and violence shown, you're taking a risk where if you over commit you'll seem sadistic and the viewers will become numb to it thus lessening the effect so there has to be a sort of counter force right? Glad you (didn't) ask because there is in fact such a thing.
Still marked by the blue, wounded and on the run, things are not looking good for Jaguar Paw. Seeing him exhausted and on the verge of six heart attacks you start wondering that he has to be close to stopping. Which he does. A waterfall. A fateful jump and the first instance of rebirth.
Another classic Christian motif, this one from the New Testament.
And then, another rebirth. Jaguar Paw finds himself in quicksand. Panic sets in not before remembering his father's final words. Fear is a sickness. Calmly he emerges.
A very brief moment of respite before starting to run once again. He then stops but the jungle does not. A swell of ambiance tries to break through the symphony of birds, bugs and winds moving branches. The camera inches closer but so do his captors. A choice is laid out. He remembers his father's words again, his family and all that has been lost. Choice made.
The hunted becomes the hunter. All the suffering that has been endured amounted for this last stand.
"I am Jaguar Paw. This is my forest. And I am not afraid."
So man thinks he tamed nature? A captor falls to snake poison. Another to bee stings and poisoned darts. And a black panther attacks with such fury that you would swear it was a vengeful man who lost everything. It was. Huh, nature provides.
Zero Wolf is next and just like the tapir in the beginning, spikes find their target. The cycle is over.
Or is it? Two hunters remain and Jaguar Paw still has his family to save. While en route, the wife gives birth in the most extreme yet fitting of places, a rapidly flooding hole. A tad goofy shot but message received mister Gibson. The legacy may yet continue.
Finally, the reunion happens but if there's one thing Apocalypto thought us is that stopping means death. So Jaguar Paw runs so the two remaining warriors chase him and not his family. Suddenly, a beach.
The last master stroke of Apocalypto. Paw and the two stop and look towards the sea. Death is indeed coming but it's white. The conquistadors have arrived. A cross and a cough. The cycle never stops and we never change. Fuck that's rough.
The tribe will endure for now and its roots remain deep in the jungle with Paw's family. No other surviving males but some women survived. No doubt to be sold to the highest bidder to be slaves and maybe even to give children and diversify the crumbling cities even more. No commentary there, it's just bad luck. The weak are eaten by the strong. A voracious cycle on each continent and during every period.
And with the arrival of the Europeans and their diseases, weaponry and manipulation now the sands of time have run out for the Maya and soon for the rest of the peninsula.
For me this is one of the most atrocious examples of colonialism and Christianization. So much lost and while the film did showcase how brutal they were, they pale in comparison with what was about to come.
And let it be clear, regardless of your opinion on Gibson, no one but him could've made this. To cast unknowns and have your big budget film spoken entirely in Yucatec Mayan, avoid CGI and film during hurricanes and then to have it profit is honestly more shocking than any gloriously gruesome scene in the film. It was a different time but still goes to show how great Gibson is at directing.
Because of his insane vision and no bars approach Apocalypto became what it is today and forever will be. A visceral viewing experience equal parts brutal and serene. A testament to our ugliest side but also our most enduring one, the will to survive.
Somehow, after getting almost completely wiped out, the remnants of these once great civilizations adapted. Its people mixed with the natives, most took up their religion and learned until eventually becoming the countries they are today, reaching a level close to its former conquerors.
And it's because of this that I remain hopeful, not that all this will not end but how a new beginning will emerge afterwards.
Apocalypto truly changed my life and I hope I did it justice. Until next time friends .