June 19, 2007I don't see a lot of movies, but this was good....
I bought Apocalypto on iTunes for some long trip. I managed to watch it on my beautiful Mac during my flight to London for some meetings. (I’m in Oslo now and preparing for meetings and a lecture tomorrow.) It was……outstanding. For one thing, the acting was quite good and the story very gripping. For another, it didn’t sugar coat the cruelty of much of Meso-American culture. The scenes of human sacrifice should be (if anything should be, which, in all honesty, it should not be) compulsory viewing for all those who opine about how peaceful non-European cultures are. (I heard a load of that from flakey north Americans on the temple of the sun in Tikal when I witnessed the sunset; I asked them what they thought the temple was used for, or what the gigantic aspirin-like stone with the engraved image of a man stretched on his back and the words “Break Spine Here” was for.) P.S. I should also add that the movie raises a lot of question about religion; I suspect that perhaps those it raised for me were not the same it raised for Mel Gibson. Posted by Tom Palmer at June 19, 2007 5:03 PM | TrackBackComments
I agree that the movie was phenomenal; one of the best I've seen in years. I suspect it got short changed by the Academy due to Mel's drunken Antisemitic rant. I think Gibson is a right-wing zealot, but I can still appreciate his art, and this movie was just that. I watched it once alone, and then prodded my wife to watch it with me again the following night. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing it again, either. One thing, though: I did read some Christian-supremacy and even anticapitalist vibes -- probably only because of Gibson's reputation, but I picked up them up nonetheless. Particularly at the end of the movie, where it is implied that the white Christians are coming to "civilize" the Mayans -- by force, of courI agree that the movie was phenomenal; one of the best I've seen in years. I suspect it got short changed by the Academy due to Mel's drunken Antisemitic rant. I think Gibson is a right-wing zealot, but I can still appreciate his art, and this movie was just that. I watched it once alone, and then prodded my wife to watch it with me again the following night. I definitely wouldn't mind seeing it again, either. One thing, though: I did read some Christian-supremacy and even anticapitalist vibes -- probably only because of Gibson's reputation, but I picked up them up nonetheless. Particularly at the end of the movie, where it is implied that the white Christians are coming to "civilize" the Mayans -- by force, of course. Yet the protagonist ambles off into the jungle, suggesting some back-to-nature/survivalist themes. Even if these messages were not purely figments of my imagination (which they very well may have been), I still recommend this movie to everyone. It may not be as classically excellent as Braveheart, but in its own way, it is just as good.se. Yet the protagonist ambles off into the jungle, suggesting some back-to-nature/survivalist themes. Even if these messages were not purely figments of my imagination (which they very well may have been), I still recommend this movie to everyone. It may not be as classically excellent as Braveheart, but in its own way, it is just as good. Posted by: G.E. Smith the Capitalist Dove at July 1, 2007 9:48 PMApocalypto is a phenomenal movie, with a beautiful story line, and a very unique way of telling it. I love apocalypto and I think it is by far one of the best movies Ive ever seen. Posted by: Auryana at September 18, 2007 3:22 PMmel gibson doesn't like it when you twist his nipples Posted by: smokey mcpot at November 13, 2007 12:46 PMYer it is a heaps good movie. Really takes a good look at the Mayan culture and shows us how brutal it was. Posted by: Some Random at May 7, 2008 5:32 AMPost a comment
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