2007 has found its film of the year in the first month, and if this is anything to go by then hopefully it's a sign of things to come (we pray). This film is, in the simplest form, brilliant.
Moving,thought provoking, disturbing and certainly not for the faint hearted, Apocalpypto deals with the basic primal instincts of man, and does it with passion and sincerity. The violence of man in his natural habitat, survival instincts, human suffering and our relationship and connection to the world we live in are all issues which are raised and highlighted.
In all fairness, the critique of the film's violence is by no means an exaggeration, its a violent film. However within its context, the violence is not unnecessary; we're dealing with tribes. Looking at it from a Eurocentric viewpoint, its not easy for our oh so 'civilised' society to watch such acts of brutality without being unnerved, and dismissing them as the subconscious workings of a crazy director. However not only are these 'sickening' acts absolutely essential to the context as a whole, but they are essential in helping us to identify and relate to the characters and the events that take place.
Killings, torture, rape, and brutality are key to this film, but alongside this are themes such as humanity, brotherhood, family and loyalty. This is life we're dealing with, and more to the point, ancient cultures.
So if you're expecting a mind numbing action movie with loads of SFX this is the wrong movie to be watching(try smokin aces instead). Like The Passion Of Christ Apocalypto is by no means an easy film to watch, In fact Gibson makes sure you suffer with the characters for the entire two and a half hours . Like The Passion, its also not the type of film that you can watch 5 times with the same vigour.
The cinematography and feel of this film is astounding. The whole texture of Apocalypto is authentic, and strives to stay away from 'action movie' territory. A key part of what makes a good film good is how believable the characters are, and these characters were excellent.
A highly moving and very memorable affair, Gibson has yet again outdone himself.
Moving,thought provoking, disturbing and certainly not for the faint hearted, Apocalpypto deals with the basic primal instincts of man, and does it with passion and sincerity. The violence of man in his natural habitat, survival instincts, human suffering and our relationship and connection to the world we live in are all issues which are raised and highlighted.
In all fairness, the critique of the film's violence is by no means an exaggeration, its a violent film. However within its context, the violence is not unnecessary; we're dealing with tribes. Looking at it from a Eurocentric viewpoint, its not easy for our oh so 'civilised' society to watch such acts of brutality without being unnerved, and dismissing them as the subconscious workings of a crazy director. However not only are these 'sickening' acts absolutely essential to the context as a whole, but they are essential in helping us to identify and relate to the characters and the events that take place.
Killings, torture, rape, and brutality are key to this film, but alongside this are themes such as humanity, brotherhood, family and loyalty. This is life we're dealing with, and more to the point, ancient cultures.
So if you're expecting a mind numbing action movie with loads of SFX this is the wrong movie to be watching(try smokin aces instead). Like The Passion Of Christ Apocalypto is by no means an easy film to watch, In fact Gibson makes sure you suffer with the characters for the entire two and a half hours . Like The Passion, its also not the type of film that you can watch 5 times with the same vigour.
The cinematography and feel of this film is astounding. The whole texture of Apocalypto is authentic, and strives to stay away from 'action movie' territory. A key part of what makes a good film good is how believable the characters are, and these characters were excellent.
A highly moving and very memorable affair, Gibson has yet again outdone himself.