While watching Apocalypto, I kept drawing comparisons to the most unlikely of films: Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke. I was struck by how similar the two films are in terms of narrative structure and their thematic elements. Both films deal with the problems that arise when a civilization, one on the cusp of inevitable change and, perhaps, obliteration, is divided between industry and nature. In addition to this, both films are action packed, quite violent, and are structured around a man's journey into the depths of “hell” and his ultimate return and triumph.
After the brutal rampaging of his remote jungle-village, Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) and the men and woman (un)fortunate enough to survive the attack, are captured and led through the vast jungle into a desolate wasteland, ravaged by the more industrialized segment of Mayan civilization, straight into the heart of the grand and disease-plagued city. En route to their final destination, the captives' eyes are opened to a world totally foreign, and ultimately threatening, to their more simple way of life. With each passing step, their decent into hell becomes all the more apparent, as their ultimate fate lies in question. That is, until they see what their captors have in store for them, as their fates are, quite literally during a chilling sequence, painted on the very walls of a stone tunnel that is the gateway to hell itself. After a serendipitous stroke of natural events, Jaguar Paw finds himself on the run back to his village to save his wife and son who he had hid away amidst the earlier chaos and carnage.
What I enjoyed most about this film, beyond the sense of impending doom and the wonderful cinematography and striking images, is how streamlined and straight forward the narrative is. Most of the story is shown from Jaguar Paw's point of view - we only ever know what he knows (except for a few brief sequences), and by rarely cutting away to simultaneous events, director Mel Gibson paints a picture of immediate and desperate intensity. The entire film feels like a piece of music, perhaps a song that the band Sonic Youth might have written, that constantly, and slowly, builds in fervor, until erupting in a climax of noise and brutality. Every aspect of the film is expertly executed to further the feelings of immediacy and the unabated ferocity of the narrative.
I do feel that too much has been said about how ultra-violent the film is. Yes, it is quite brutal - we see a decapitation from the point of view of the lopped off head, and, in one scene of particular brutality, we see an arterial spray of blood from a head hemorrhaged by a very large club. However, the film never felt more violent, or brutal, than Scorsese's The Departed. I would even argue that Scorsese's film actually feels more violent because, often times, the bloodletting in that film is played for tension relief, while the violence in Apocalypto feels more consequential to the story being told. The film also personifies Gibson's own acting style. I have often said that Gibson possesses a quality that is uniquely his - there are moments in many of his more action based films, where we can plainly see on his face that he is a man who can take no more, and he's about to kick some serious ass. Mad Max, The Road Warrior, Signs, The Patriot, Braveheart, Payback, and others, all possess this Gibson-trademark. In its entirety, Apocalypto mirrors this quality, and it is better for it.
The only point in which the film falters is during its final moments. The use of deus ex machina at the tail end of the climax, robs Jaguar Paw of delivering his final retribution - I felt cheated at this turn of events. Gibson had successfully built such a grand and action packed finale where the hero serves his tormentors what they truly deserve, that to rob him of those final kills seems like a cruel twist of fate, and a knick in an otherwise strong narrative. However, the moments up to this closing sequence are full of such intense action, and crackling energy, that it is hard to turn away even for a second.
Like Ashitaka in Princess Mononoke, Jaguar Paw is a hero who truly deserves to be triumphant. Both of their journeys take them from the lands of their families, and the familiar, into a place full of corruption and decadence. They are both noble, and their plight is a tragic one, and, through it all, their hearts and minds remain strong and pure. Also, like Princess Mononoke, Apocalypto is a film that sizzles with memorable imagery, and intense, sometimes brutal, action, that pushes the narrative forward in a grand and epic fashion.
