Apocalypto
Encyclopedia
Apocalypto is a 2006 American epic
action
-adventure film
directed by Mel Gibson
. Set in Yucatan
, Mexico
, during the declining period of the Maya civilization
, Apocalypto depicts the journey of a Mesoamerican tribesman who must escape human sacrifice
and rescue his family after the capture and destruction of his village.
The film features a cast of Mayas
, and some other people of Native American
descent. Its Yucatec Maya dialogue is accompanied by subtitles.
in the Mesoamerican jungle in the early 16th century, Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood
), his father Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead
), and their fellow tribesmen encounter a procession of traumatized refugees. Speaking in Yucatec Maya, the group's leader explains that their lands were ravaged, and asks for permission to pass through the jungle. When Jaguar Paw and his tribesmen return home, Flint Sky tells his son not to let the refugees' fear infect him.
The next morning, after Jaguar Paw wakes from a nightmare involving the refugee leader, he sees warriors entering the village and setting the huts on fire. The raiders, led by Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo
), attack and subdue the villagers. Jaguar Paw slips out with his pregnant wife Seven (Dalia Hernández) and his little son Turtles Run, lowering them by vine into a deep vertical cave, tying the vine off so they could climb out later. Jaguar Paw then kills a raider and returns to help the village. He is eventually subdued and an insane raider named Middle Eye (Gerardo Taracena
), whom Jaguar Paw almost killed, slits Flint Sky's throat while the bound Jaguar Paw can only watch. Before the raiders leave with their prisoners, Snake Ink, one of the raider captains, notices Jaguar Paw staring toward the cave. Suspicious of the tied off vine hanging into the cave, he cuts it, trapping Seven and Turtles Run. Jaguar Paw and the other captives are then led off into the jungle.
A short distance from the village they join another group of raiders who have captured the refugees Jaguar Paw met the day before. Later, Cocoa Leaf, a wounded captive tied to the same pole as Jaguar Paw nearly tumbles off a cliff, but Jaguar Paw and the others are able to pull him back up with incredible effort. Though Middle Eye, who is guarding them, is impressed by this show of brute power, he kills Cocoa Leaf by cutting him loose and pushing him off the cliff to taunt Jaguar Paw.
The raiding party march toward a Mayan
city, encountering razed forests and failed maize
crops, along with villages decimated by plague. A small girl dying of plague prophesies that a man running with a jaguar
will bring the raiders to those who will scratch out the earth and end their world. In the city's outskirts, where the prisoners come upon slaves working in lime quarries, the female captives are sold as slaves while the males are escorted to the top of a step pyramid. The high priest sacrifices several captives, including Jaguar Paw's friend Curl Nose, by cutting out their beating hearts before beheading them. When Jaguar Paw is about to be sacrificed, a solar eclipse
(also prophesied by the girl) occurs. The high priest looks at the king and the two share a knowing smile while the people below panic at the phenomenon. The priest declares the sun god Kukulkan
is satisfied with the sacrifices. He asks Kukulkan to let light return to the world and the eclipse passes. The crowd cheers in amazement and the priest orders that the remaining captives be led away and disposed of.
Zero Wolf takes the captives to a ball court. The captives are released in pairs and forced to run the length of the open space within the ball court, offering Zero Wolf's men some target practice, with a cynical promise of freedom should they reach the end of the field alive. Zero Wolf's son, Cut Rock, is sent to the end of the field to "finish" any survivors. The raiders target the runners with javelin
s, arrows, and large stones. The first pair are Jaguar Paw's last living friends, Smoke Frog and Blunted. Smoke Frog is struck by a heavy stone, then finished off by Cut Rock while Blunted is impaled through the stomach by a javelin.
Next up are Jaguar Paw and the refugee leader from the beginning. Although they almost make it, the refugee leader is shot through the head by an arrow and Jaguar Paw is shot through the side of his stomach by an arrow. As Cut Rock approaches to finish Jaguar Paw, the not-quite-dead Blunted trips Cut Rock to buy Jaguar Paw time. Cut Rock gets up and savagely kills Blunted then turns to finish off Jaguar Paw, but is stabbed through the neck with an arrowhead by Jaguar Paw, who then stumbles away toward the jungle.
As Cut Rock bleeds out with Zero Wolf easing him into the next life, Jaguar Paw runs through a withered maize field and an open mass grave
before finally reaching the jungle. The enraged Zero Wolf and his men pursue Jaguar Paw into the jungle and back toward Jaguar Paw's home. Along the way, one of the raiders is killed by a black jaguar angered by Jaguar Paw. Another raider is killed when a venomous snake bites his neck. Eventually, after running all night, Jaguar Paw finds himself caught between a high waterfall and his hunters and is forced to jump. He survives and declares from the riverbank below that the raiders are now in his homelands, echoing his father's challenge to the refugees at the beginning of the film.
After listening to Jaguar Paw's challenge, Snake Ink says they should climb down after Jaguar Paw but is stabbed by Zero Wolf for his suggestion. Zero Wolf then commands that he and his men jump the falls and in shock, they all jump as well. While most make it alive, one smashes his head on the rocks below and is killed. The remaining men swim to the shore and re-start their pursuit, but soon Jaguar Paw, now camouflaged in mud, kills one raider with poison darts, only to immediately confront Middle Eye, bludgeoning him to death with the Mayan war club of the raider he just killed. However, much to Jaguar Paw's worries, it begins raining heavily, with the cave where Jaguar Paw's wife and son are trapped starting to flood. As he rushes to save his family, Jaguar Paw is confronted by Zero Wolf and shot again with an arrow. As Zero Wolf advances to finish Jaguar Paw he is impaled and killed by a trap meant for hunting tapir
.
Following Zero Wolf's death, the two remaining raiders chase Jaguar Paw out to a beach where, much to the surprise of all three of them, they encounter Spanish
ships anchored off the coast, with soldiers making their way ashore. The amazement of the raiders allows Jaguar Paw to flee. He returns into the forest to pull his wife and son out of the flooded pit where they are hiding, and where Seven has just given birth to a healthy second son. As the reunited family look out from the forest towards the Spanish ships, Seven wonders if they should go to the strangers, but Jaguar Paw tells his family to return with him to the forest. They head into the jungle in search of a new beginning.
and producer Farhad Safinia
first met director Mel Gibson
while working as an assistant during the post-production of The Passion of the Christ
. Eventually, Gibson and Safinia found time to discuss "their mutual love of movies and what excites them about moviemaking".
Gibson said they wanted to "shake up the stale action
-adventure
genre", which he felt was dominated by CGI
, stock stories and shallow characters and to create a footchase that would "feel like a car chase that just keeps turning the screws."
Gibson and Safinia were also interested in portraying and exploring an ancient culture as it existed before the arrival of the Europeans. Considering both the Aztecs and the Maya, they eventually chose the Maya for their high sophistication and their eventual decline.
The two researched ancient Maya history, reading both creation and destruction myth
s, including sacred texts such as the Popul Vuh. In the audio commentary of the film's first DVD release, Safinia states that the old shaman's story (played by Espiridion Acosta Cache who is an actual modern day Maya storyteller) was modified from an authentic Mesoamerican tale that was re-translated into the Yucatec Maya language by the young Maya professor Hilario Chi Canul
who also acted as a dialogue coach during production. As they researched the script, Safinia and Gibson traveled to Guatemala
, Costa Rica
and the Yucatán peninsula
to scout filming locations and visit Maya ruins.
Striving for a degree of historical accuracy, the filmmakers employed a consultant, Richard D. Hansen
, a specialist in the Maya, assistant professor of archaeology at Idaho State University
, and director of the Mirador Basin
Project, an effort to preserve a large swath of the Guatemalan rain forest and its Maya ruins. Gibson has said of Hansen's involvement: "Richard's enthusiasm for what he does is infectious. He was able to reassure us and make us feel secure that what we were writing had some authenticity as well as imagination."
Despite this supposed effort towards a degree of historical accuracy, other scholars of Mesoamerican history have noted numerous non-trivial misrepresentations . See further coverage on the film's questionable historical accuracy and representation of the Maya below under "Controversies."
Gibson is interested in using unfamiliar languages on film, having already used Aramaic
, Latin
and Hebrew in his religious blockbuster
The Passion of the Christ
. In Apocalypto, the dialogue is entirely in the Yucatec Maya language. Gibson explains: "I think hearing a different language allows the audience to completely suspend their own reality and get drawn into the world of the film. And more importantly, this also puts the emphasis on the cinematic visuals, which are a kind of universal language of the heart."
chose a cast of actors who were from Mexico City
and the Yucatán
, or who were descendants of indigenous peoples of Canada
and the United States
. It was important for the director that "these characters have to be utterly believable as pre-Columbian
Mesoamericans." Some of the youngest and oldest cast members were Maya who knew no language besides Maya and had never seen a tall building before.
Gibson explained that he wanted to cast unknown actors so that they could play certain mythic types without the audiences associating them with prior roles. "In terms of casting it, you always have many choices. You can go against type, or with type. On this one I have purposely chosen an archetypal selection, casting it right with type, because of the obscure dialect and the unfamiliar period in which the story is set." In addition to the lead actors, some scenes required as many as 700 extras.
, the make-up artists daily applied the required tattoos, scarification, and earlobe extension to all of the onscreen actors. According to advisor Richard D. Hansen
, the choices in body make-up were based on both artistic license and fact: "I spent hours and hours going through the pottery and the images looking for tattoos. The scarification and tattooing was all researched, the inlaid jade teeth are in there, the ear spools are in there. There is a little doohickey that comes down from the ear through the nose into the septum
– that was entirely their artistic innovation." An example of attention to detail is the left arm tattoo of Seven, Jaguar Paw's wife, which is a horizontal band with two dots above – the Mayan symbol for the number seven
.
Simon Atherton, an English armorer and weapon-maker who worked with Gibson on Braveheart
, was hired this time to research and provide the Maya weapons. Gibson let Atherton play the cross-bearing Franciscan
friar
who appears on a boat at the end of the film.
wanted Apocalypto to feature sets with actual buildings rather than relying on computer-generated images
. Most of the step pyramids seen at the Maya city were models designed by Thomas E. Sanders
. Sanders explained his approach, "We wanted to set up the Mayan world, but we were not trying to do a documentary
. Visually, we wanted to go for what would have the most impact. Just as on Braveheart, you are treading the line of history and cinematography. Our job is to do a beautiful movie."
However, while many of the architectural details of Maya cities are correct, they are blended from different locations and eras, a decision Farhad Safinia
said was made for aesthetic reasons. While Apocalypto is set during the post-classic period of Maya civilization, the central pyramid of the film comes from the classic period, which ended in A.D. 900. Furthermore, the temples are in the shape of those of Tikal
in the central lowlands classic
style but decorated with the Puuc
style elements of the north west Yucatan centuries later. Richard D. Hansen
comments, "There was nothing in the post-classic period that would match the size and majesty of that pyramid in the film. But Gibson … was trying to depict opulence, wealth, consumption of resources." The mural in the arched walkway combined elements from the Maya codices
, the Bonampak
murals (over 700 years earlier than the film's setting), and the San Bartolo
murals (some 1500 years earlier than the film's setting).
, San Andrés Tuxtla and Paso de Ovejas
in the Mexican
state of Veracruz
. The waterfall scene was filmed on a real waterfall called Salto de Eyipantla, located in San Andrés Tuxtla. Other filming by second-unit crews took place in El Petén, Guatemala
and in Great Britain
. The film was originally slated for an August 4, 2006, release, but Touchstone Pictures
delayed the release date to December 8, 2006, due to heavy rains and two hurricanes interfering with filming in Mexico
. Principal photography ended in July 2006.
Apocalypto was shot on high-definition
digital video
, using the Panavision Genesis
camera. During filming, Gibson and cinematographer Dean Semler
employed the use of Spydercam
, a suspended camera system allowing shooting from atop. This equipment was used in a scene in which Jaguar Paw leaps off a waterfall.
A number of animals are featured in Apocalypto, including a Baird's tapir
and a black jaguar
. Animatronics
or puppets were employed for the scenes injurious to animals.
to Apocalypto was composed by James Horner
in his third collaboration with director Mel Gibson
. The soundtrack lacks a traditional orchestral score and instead features a large array of exotic instruments and vocals by Pakistani singer Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
.
financed the film through his Icon Productions
, Disney signed on to distribute
Apocalypto for a fee in certain markets. The publicity for the film started with a December 2005 teaser trailer that was filmed before the start of principal photography and before Rudy Youngblood
was cast as Jaguar Paw. As a joke, Gibson inserted a subliminal cameo of the bearded director in a plaid shirt with a cigarette hanging from his mouth posing next to a group of dust-covered Maya. A clean-shaven Gibson also filmed a Mayan-language segment for the introduction of the 2006 Academy Awards
in which he declined to host the ceremony.
On September 23, 2006, Gibson pre-screened the unfinished film to two predominantly Native American
audiences in the US state
of Oklahoma
, at the Riverwind Casino
in Goldsby
, owned by the Chickasaw Nation
, and at Cameron University
in Lawton
. He also did a pre-screening in Austin
, Texas
, on September 24 in conjunction with one of the film's stars, Rudy Youngblood
. In Los Angeles
, Gibson screened Apocalypto and participated in a Q&A session for Latin Business Association and for members of the Maya community. Due to an enthusiastic response from exhibitors, Disney opened the film on more than 2,500 screens in the United States.
, the Mayan setting of Apocalypto is "merely the backdrop" for a more universal story of exploring "civilizations and what undermines them". Although it is not directly expressed in the film, the background to the events depicted is the collapse of the Maya civilization
, which the filmmakers researched before writing. According to archaeologist Michael D. Coe, "Maya civilization in the Central Area reached its full glory in the early eighth century, but it must have contained the seeds of its own destruction, for in the century and a half that followed, all its magnificent cities had fallen into decline and ultimately suffered abandonment. This was surely one of the most profound social and demographic catastrophes of all human history." Coe lists "environmental collapse" as one of the leading causes of the fall of the great empire, alongside "endemic warfare", "overpopulation", and "drought". "There is mounting evidence for massive deforestation and erosion throughout the Central Area. The Maya apocalypse, for such it was, surely had ecological roots," explains Coe. The corrosive forces of corruption are illustrated in specific scenes throughout the film. Excessive consumption can be seen in the extravagant lifestyle of the upper-class Maya, their vast wealth contrasted with the sickly, the extremely poor, and the enslaved. Environmental degradation is portrayed both in the exploitation of natural resources such as the over-mining and farming of the land, but also through the treatment of people, families and entire tribes as resources to be harvested and sold to slavery. Political corruption is seen in the leaders' manipulation, the human sacrifice
on a large scale, and the slave trade. The film shows slaves being forced to create the lime stucco
cement that covered their temples, an act that some historians consider a major factor in the Maya decline. One calculation estimates that it would take five tons of jungle forestry to make one ton of quicklime. Historical consultant Richard D. Hansen
explains, "I found one pyramid in El Mirador
that would have required nearly 650 hectares (1,600 acres) of every single available tree just to cover one building with lime stucco... Epic construction was happening... creating devastation on a huge scale"
The filmmakers intended this depiction of the Maya collapse to have relevance for contemporary society. The problems "faced by the Maya are extraordinarily similar to those faced today by our own civilization" co-writer Safinia stated during production, "especially when it comes to widespread environmental degradation, excessive consumption and political corruption". Gibson himself has stated that the film is an attempt at illustrating the parallels between a great fallen empire of the past and the great empires of today, saying "People think that modern man is so enlightened, but we're susceptible to the same forces – and we are also capable of the same heroism and transcendence." The film serves as a cultural critique – in Hansen's words, a "social statement" – sending the message that it is never a mistake to question our own assumptions about morality.
However, Gibson has also stated that he wanted the film to be hopeful rather than entirely negative. Gibson has defined the title as "a new beginning or an unveiling – a revelation"; he says "Everything has a beginning and an end, and all civilizations have operated like that". The Greek word is in fact a verb
meaning "I uncover", "disclose", or "reveal". Gibson has also said a theme of the film is the exploration of primal fears.
on December 8, 2006, to generally positive reviews from film critics. Richard Roeper
and guest critic Aisha Tyler
on the television show Ebert & Roeper gave it "two big thumbs up" rating. Michael Medved
gave Apocalypto four stars (out of four) calling the film "an adrenaline-drenched chase movie" and "a visceral visual experience." Overall, the review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 115 out of the 179 reviews they tallied were positive for a score of 64% and a certification of "fresh"; among Top Critics, Rotten Tomatoes reported a mixed score of 58%, with 25 of 43 reviews by noted reviewers being positive.
The film was released less than six months after Gibson's 2006 DUI incident, where the director made antisemitic comments to police after being stopped on suspicion of driving under the influence
of alcohol; the incident garnered Gibson much negative publicity and magnified concerns some had over alleged antisemitism in his previous film, The Passion of the Christ
. Several key film critics alluded to the incident in their reviews of Apocalypto: In his positive review, The New York Times
' A. O. Scott
commented: "say what you will about him – about his problem with booze or his problem with Jews – he is a serious filmmaker." The Boston Globe review came to a similar conclusion, noting that "Gibson may be a lunatic, but he's our lunatic, and while I wouldn't wish him behind the wheel of a car after happy hour or at a B'nai Brith function anytime, behind a camera is another matter." In a negative review, Salon.com
noted "People are curious about this movie because of what might be called extra-textual reasons, because its director is an erratic and charismatic Hollywood figure who would have totally marginalized himself by now if he didn't possess a crude gift for crafting violent pop entertainment."
Apocalypto gained some passionate champions in the Hollywood community. Actor Robert Duvall
called it "maybe the best movie I've seen in 25 years". Director Quentin Tarantino
said, "I think it's a masterpiece. It was perhaps the best film of that year. I think it was the best artistic film of that year." Actor Edward James Olmos
said, "I was totally caught off guard. It's arguably the best movie I've seen in years. I was blown away."
and Rocky Balboa
. It even displaced memorable Mexican premieres such as Titanic
and Poseidon
. According to polls performed by the newspaper Reforma
, 80% of polled Mexicans labeled the film as "very good" or "good".
was given the Trustee Award by the First Americans in the Arts
organization. Gibson was also awarded the Latino Business Association's Chairman's Visionary Award for his work on Apocalypto on November 2, 2006, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles
, California
. At the ceremony, Gibson said that the film was a "badge of honor for the Latino community." Gibson also stated that Apocalypto would help dismiss the notion that "history only began with Europeans".
wrote that the film depicts the Maya as a "super-cruel, psycho-sadistic society on the skids, a ghoulscape engaged in widespread slavery, reckless sewage treatment and bad rave dancing, with a real lust for human blood." Just prior to its release, Apocalypto was criticized by activists in Guatemala
, including Lucio Yaxon, who charged that the trailer depicts Maya as savages. In her review of the film, anthropologist Traci Ardren wrote that Apocalypto was biased because "no mention is made of the achievements in science and art, the profound spirituality and connection to agricultural cycles, or the engineering feats of Maya cities". Apocalypto also sparked a strong condemnation from art history professor Julia Guernsey, a Mesoamerican specialist, who said, "I think it's despicable. It's offensive to Maya people. It's offensive to those of us who try to teach cultural sensitivity and alternative world views that might not match our own 21st century Western ones but are nonetheless valid."
Other writers felt that Gibson's film was more truthful about the Maya than other representations. One Mexican reporter, Juan E. Pardinas, wrote that "this historical interpretation bears some resemblances with reality […]. Mel Gibson's characters are more similar to the Mayas of the Bonampak
's murals than the ones that appear in the Mexican school textbooks." "The first researchers tried to make a distinction between the 'peaceful' Maya and the 'brutal' cultures of central Mexico", David Stuart
wrote in a 2003 article. "They even tried to say human sacrifice was rare among the Maya." But in carvings and mural paintings, Stuart said: "we have now found more and greater similarities between the Aztecs and Mayas – including a Maya ceremony in which a grotesquely costumed priest is shown pulling the entrails from a bound and apparently living sacrificial victim".
Richard D. Hansen
, who was a historical consultant on the film, stated that the impact the film will have on Maya archaeology will be beneficial:
"It is a wonderful opportunity to focus world attention on the ancient Maya and to realize the role they played in world history." However, in an interview with the Washington Post, Hansen conceded the film "give[s] the feeling they're a sadistic lot," and said, "I'm a little apprehensive about how the contemporary Maya will take it."
. Archaeologist Lisa Lucero said, "the classic Maya really didn't go in for mass sacrifice. That was the Aztecs." Anthropology
professor Karl Taube
argued that, "We know the Aztecs did that level of killing. Their accounts speak of 20,000." According to the film's technical advisor, the film was meant to describe the post-classic period of the Maya when fiercer influences like the Toltecs and Aztecs arrived. According to Hansen, "We know warfare was going on. The Postclassic center of Tulum is a walled city; these sites had to be in defensive positions. There was tremendous Aztec influence by this time. The Aztecs were clearly ruthless in their conquest and pursuit of sacrificial victims, a practice that spilled over into some of the Maya areas." Anthropology
professor Stephen Houston made the criticism that sacrifice victims were more likely to be royalty and elites rather than common forest dwellers, as shown in Apocalypto. In contrast, Associate Professor William R. Fowler states that for major favors, worshippers "offered the gods human sacrifice, usually children, slaves, or prisoners of war". Anthropology
professor Karl Taube
criticized the film's apparent depiction of widespread slavery
, saying, "We have no evidence of large numbers of slaves." Another disputed scene, when Jaguar Paw and the rest of captives are used as target practice, was acknowledged by the filmmakers to be invented as a plot device for igniting the chase sequence. Some anthropologists objected to the presence of a huge pit filled with rotting corpses near their fields of the Maya. Richard D. Hansen
acknowledges that this is "conjecture", saying that "all [Gibson was] trying to do there is express the horror of it".
The Washington Post reported that the famous Bonampak
murals were digitally altered to show a warrior holding a dripping human heart, which is not present in the original.
commentary track by Mel Gibson
and Farhad Safinia
, the ending of the film was meant to depict the first contact between the Spaniards and Mayas that took place in 1502 during the fourth voyage of Christopher Columbus
.
The thematic meaning of the arrival of the Europeans is a subject of disagreement. Traci Ardren wrote that the Spanish arrivals were Christian
missionaries and that the film had a "blatantly colonial
message that the Mayas needed saving because they were "rotten at the core". According to Ardren, the Gibson film "replays, in glorious big-budget technicolor, an offensive and racist notion that Maya people were brutal to one another long before the arrival of Europeans and thus they deserved, in fact they needed, rescue. This same idea was used for 500 years to justify the subjugation of Maya people". On the other hand, David van Biema questions whether the Spaniards are portrayed as saviors of the Mayas, since they are depicted ominously and Jaguar Paw decides to return to the woods. This view is supported by the reference of the Oracle Girl to those who would "Scratch out the earth. Scratch you out. And end your world." However, recalling the opening quote to the film ("A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within"), professors David Stuart and Stephen Houston have written the implication is that the Maya are so evil that they were "a civilization...that deserves to die."
Epic film
An epic is a genre of film that emphasizes human drama on a grand scale. Epics are more ambitious in scope than other film genres, and their ambitious nature helps to differentiate them from similar genres such as the period piece or adventure film...
action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
-adventure film
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
directed by Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
. Set in Yucatan
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, during the declining period of the Maya civilization
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
, Apocalypto depicts the journey of a Mesoamerican tribesman who must escape human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
and rescue his family after the capture and destruction of his village.
The film features a cast of Mayas
Maya peoples
The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term...
, and some other people of Native American
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
descent. Its Yucatec Maya dialogue is accompanied by subtitles.
Plot
While hunting tapirTapir
A Tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs: the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, Baird's Tapir and the Mountain...
in the Mesoamerican jungle in the early 16th century, Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood is a Native American actor, musician, dancer and artist. He was born in Belton, Texas.-Acting career:...
), his father Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead
Morris Birdyellowhead
Morris Birdyellowhead is a Canadian actor best known for his portrayal of Flint Sky in the 2006 epic film Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson.He is a member of the Paul First Nation in Alberta....
), and their fellow tribesmen encounter a procession of traumatized refugees. Speaking in Yucatec Maya, the group's leader explains that their lands were ravaged, and asks for permission to pass through the jungle. When Jaguar Paw and his tribesmen return home, Flint Sky tells his son not to let the refugees' fear infect him.
The next morning, after Jaguar Paw wakes from a nightmare involving the refugee leader, he sees warriors entering the village and setting the huts on fire. The raiders, led by Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo
Raoul Trujillo
Born Jose Raoul TrujilloAlso known as Raul Trujillo and Max Cheblon|parents= Luis and Lorraine TrujilloHis official website is raoultrujilloinfo.com, created by Charmaine deValois in London....
), attack and subdue the villagers. Jaguar Paw slips out with his pregnant wife Seven (Dalia Hernández) and his little son Turtles Run, lowering them by vine into a deep vertical cave, tying the vine off so they could climb out later. Jaguar Paw then kills a raider and returns to help the village. He is eventually subdued and an insane raider named Middle Eye (Gerardo Taracena
Gerardo Taracena
Gerardo Taracena is a Mexican film and theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his roles in Apocalypto, Man on Fire, American Family, The Mexican and Sin Nombre...
), whom Jaguar Paw almost killed, slits Flint Sky's throat while the bound Jaguar Paw can only watch. Before the raiders leave with their prisoners, Snake Ink, one of the raider captains, notices Jaguar Paw staring toward the cave. Suspicious of the tied off vine hanging into the cave, he cuts it, trapping Seven and Turtles Run. Jaguar Paw and the other captives are then led off into the jungle.
A short distance from the village they join another group of raiders who have captured the refugees Jaguar Paw met the day before. Later, Cocoa Leaf, a wounded captive tied to the same pole as Jaguar Paw nearly tumbles off a cliff, but Jaguar Paw and the others are able to pull him back up with incredible effort. Though Middle Eye, who is guarding them, is impressed by this show of brute power, he kills Cocoa Leaf by cutting him loose and pushing him off the cliff to taunt Jaguar Paw.
The raiding party march toward a Mayan
Maya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
city, encountering razed forests and failed maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
crops, along with villages decimated by plague. A small girl dying of plague prophesies that a man running with a jaguar
Jaguar
The jaguar is a big cat, a feline in the Panthera genus, and is the only Panthera species found in the Americas. The jaguar is the third-largest feline after the tiger and the lion, and the largest in the Western Hemisphere. The jaguar's present range extends from Southern United States and Mexico...
will bring the raiders to those who will scratch out the earth and end their world. In the city's outskirts, where the prisoners come upon slaves working in lime quarries, the female captives are sold as slaves while the males are escorted to the top of a step pyramid. The high priest sacrifices several captives, including Jaguar Paw's friend Curl Nose, by cutting out their beating hearts before beheading them. When Jaguar Paw is about to be sacrificed, a solar eclipse
Solar eclipse
As seen from the Earth, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth, and the Moon fully or partially blocks the Sun as viewed from a location on Earth. This can happen only during a new moon, when the Sun and the Moon are in conjunction as seen from Earth. At least...
(also prophesied by the girl) occurs. The high priest looks at the king and the two share a knowing smile while the people below panic at the phenomenon. The priest declares the sun god Kukulkan
Kukulkan
Kukulkan is the name of a Maya snake deity that also serves to designate historical persons. The depiction of the feathered serpent deity is present in other cultures of Mesoamerica. Kukulkan is closely related to the god Q'uq'umatz of the K'iche' Maya and to Quetzalcoatl of the Aztecs...
is satisfied with the sacrifices. He asks Kukulkan to let light return to the world and the eclipse passes. The crowd cheers in amazement and the priest orders that the remaining captives be led away and disposed of.
Zero Wolf takes the captives to a ball court. The captives are released in pairs and forced to run the length of the open space within the ball court, offering Zero Wolf's men some target practice, with a cynical promise of freedom should they reach the end of the field alive. Zero Wolf's son, Cut Rock, is sent to the end of the field to "finish" any survivors. The raiders target the runners with javelin
Javelin
A Javelin is a light spear intended for throwing. It is commonly known from the modern athletic discipline, the Javelin throw.Javelin may also refer to:-Aviation:* ATG Javelin, an American-Israeli civil jet aircraft, under development...
s, arrows, and large stones. The first pair are Jaguar Paw's last living friends, Smoke Frog and Blunted. Smoke Frog is struck by a heavy stone, then finished off by Cut Rock while Blunted is impaled through the stomach by a javelin.
Next up are Jaguar Paw and the refugee leader from the beginning. Although they almost make it, the refugee leader is shot through the head by an arrow and Jaguar Paw is shot through the side of his stomach by an arrow. As Cut Rock approaches to finish Jaguar Paw, the not-quite-dead Blunted trips Cut Rock to buy Jaguar Paw time. Cut Rock gets up and savagely kills Blunted then turns to finish off Jaguar Paw, but is stabbed through the neck with an arrowhead by Jaguar Paw, who then stumbles away toward the jungle.
As Cut Rock bleeds out with Zero Wolf easing him into the next life, Jaguar Paw runs through a withered maize field and an open mass grave
Mass grave
A mass grave is a grave containing multiple number of human corpses, which may or may not be identified prior to burial. There is no strict definition of the minimum number of bodies required to constitute a mass grave, although the United Nations defines a mass grave as a burial site which...
before finally reaching the jungle. The enraged Zero Wolf and his men pursue Jaguar Paw into the jungle and back toward Jaguar Paw's home. Along the way, one of the raiders is killed by a black jaguar angered by Jaguar Paw. Another raider is killed when a venomous snake bites his neck. Eventually, after running all night, Jaguar Paw finds himself caught between a high waterfall and his hunters and is forced to jump. He survives and declares from the riverbank below that the raiders are now in his homelands, echoing his father's challenge to the refugees at the beginning of the film.
After listening to Jaguar Paw's challenge, Snake Ink says they should climb down after Jaguar Paw but is stabbed by Zero Wolf for his suggestion. Zero Wolf then commands that he and his men jump the falls and in shock, they all jump as well. While most make it alive, one smashes his head on the rocks below and is killed. The remaining men swim to the shore and re-start their pursuit, but soon Jaguar Paw, now camouflaged in mud, kills one raider with poison darts, only to immediately confront Middle Eye, bludgeoning him to death with the Mayan war club of the raider he just killed. However, much to Jaguar Paw's worries, it begins raining heavily, with the cave where Jaguar Paw's wife and son are trapped starting to flood. As he rushes to save his family, Jaguar Paw is confronted by Zero Wolf and shot again with an arrow. As Zero Wolf advances to finish Jaguar Paw he is impaled and killed by a trap meant for hunting tapir
Tapir
A Tapir is a large browsing mammal, similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile snout. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South America, Central America, and Southeast Asia. There are four species of Tapirs: the Brazilian Tapir, the Malayan Tapir, Baird's Tapir and the Mountain...
.
Following Zero Wolf's death, the two remaining raiders chase Jaguar Paw out to a beach where, much to the surprise of all three of them, they encounter Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
ships anchored off the coast, with soldiers making their way ashore. The amazement of the raiders allows Jaguar Paw to flee. He returns into the forest to pull his wife and son out of the flooded pit where they are hiding, and where Seven has just given birth to a healthy second son. As the reunited family look out from the forest towards the Spanish ships, Seven wonders if they should go to the strangers, but Jaguar Paw tells his family to return with him to the forest. They head into the jungle in search of a new beginning.
Cast
- Any Puello as Heaven Flower
- Rudy YoungbloodRudy YoungbloodRudy Youngblood is a Native American actor, musician, dancer and artist. He was born in Belton, Texas.-Acting career:...
as Jaguar Paw - Dalia Hernández as Seven
- Jonathan Brewer as Blunted
- Mayra SérbuloMayra SérbuloMayra Sérbulo Cortés is a Mexican actress of film, theater and television.Born in the community of Jalapa del Marqués, where she spent the first years of her childhood beside her parents, who were the first to instill in the arts, it recalls that her father liked to sing and dance, and that...
as Young Woman - Morris BirdyellowheadMorris BirdyellowheadMorris Birdyellowhead is a Canadian actor best known for his portrayal of Flint Sky in the 2006 epic film Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson.He is a member of the Paul First Nation in Alberta....
as Flint Sky - Carlos Emilio Báez as Turtles Run
- Amílcar Ramírez as Curl Nose
- Israel ContrerasIsrael ContrerasIsrael Contreras is a former Venezuelan boxer who won the World Boxing Association bantamweight title. He had a supporting role in the Mel Gibson film Apocalypto.-Boxing career:...
as Smoke Frog - Israel Ríos as Cocoa Leaf
- María Isabel Díaz as Mother-in-Law
- Iazúa Laríos as Sky Flower
- Raoul TrujilloRaoul TrujilloBorn Jose Raoul TrujilloAlso known as Raul Trujillo and Max Cheblon|parents= Luis and Lorraine TrujilloHis official website is raoultrujilloinfo.com, created by Charmaine deValois in London....
as Zero Wolf - Gerardo TaracenaGerardo TaracenaGerardo Taracena is a Mexican film and theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his roles in Apocalypto, Man on Fire, American Family, The Mexican and Sin Nombre...
as Middle Eye - Rodolfo Palacios as Snake Ink
- Ariel Galván as Hanging Moss
- Fernando HernandezFernando HernándezFernando Hernández, known in his native Costa Rica as "El Príncipe" , is a retired footballer.He played his entire career for Deportivo Saprissa, and is considered an idol for their fans....
as High Priest - Rafael Velez as Mayan King
- Bernardo Ruiz as Drunkards Four
- Ricardo Díaz Mendoza as Cut Rock
- Richard Can as Ten Peccary
- Carlos RamosCarlos RamosCarlos Ramos Fra is a Spanish former swimmer from Burela, Lugo. He competed for his native country at the European LC Championships 1997 in Seville, Spain.-References:...
as Monkey Jaw - Ammel Rodrigo Mendoza as Buzzard Hook
- Marco Antonio Argueta as Speaking Wind
- Aquetzali García as Oracle boy
- María Isidra Hoil as Oracle Girl
- Abel WoolrichAbel Woolrich-Acting career:His career spanned over thirty years of Mexican cinema, including films such as Mujeres salvajes and El callejón de los milagros; in addition, he had small parts in a few Hollywood movies such as Solo, The Mask of Zorro, Apocalypto, Ravenous and My Family.-Apocalypto and...
as Laughing man - Gilmerio DSouza as Ultimate Ekach
Screenplay
ScreenwriterScreenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and producer Farhad Safinia
Farhad Safinia
Farhad Safinia is a screenwriter and film/TV producer, best known for Apocalypto and Boss.-Personal life:Farhad Safinia was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1975. He left Iran with his family at the age of four to live in Paris, then London...
first met director Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
while working as an assistant during the post-production of The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
. Eventually, Gibson and Safinia found time to discuss "their mutual love of movies and what excites them about moviemaking".
Gibson said they wanted to "shake up the stale action
Action film
Action film is a film genre where one or more heroes is thrust into a series of challenges that require physical feats, extended fights and frenetic chases...
-adventure
Adventure film
Adventure films are a genre of film.Unlike pure, low-budget action films they often use their action scenes preferably to display and explore exotic locations in an energetic way....
genre", which he felt was dominated by CGI
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
, stock stories and shallow characters and to create a footchase that would "feel like a car chase that just keeps turning the screws."
Gibson and Safinia were also interested in portraying and exploring an ancient culture as it existed before the arrival of the Europeans. Considering both the Aztecs and the Maya, they eventually chose the Maya for their high sophistication and their eventual decline.
The two researched ancient Maya history, reading both creation and destruction myth
Eschatology
Eschatology is a part of theology, philosophy, and futurology concerned with what are believed to be the final events in history, or the ultimate destiny of humanity, commonly referred to as the end of the world or the World to Come...
s, including sacred texts such as the Popul Vuh. In the audio commentary of the film's first DVD release, Safinia states that the old shaman's story (played by Espiridion Acosta Cache who is an actual modern day Maya storyteller) was modified from an authentic Mesoamerican tale that was re-translated into the Yucatec Maya language by the young Maya professor Hilario Chi Canul
Hilario Chi Canul
Hilario Chi Canul is a Mexican linguist of Maya ethnicity who worked as a translator and language coach in the production of the 2006 movie Apocalypto by Mel Gibson. In 2007 he won the first prize in the Mexican governments competition of indigenous language rhetorics. He is Professor of Maya at...
who also acted as a dialogue coach during production. As they researched the script, Safinia and Gibson traveled to Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
and the Yucatán peninsula
Yucatán Peninsula
The Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
to scout filming locations and visit Maya ruins.
Striving for a degree of historical accuracy, the filmmakers employed a consultant, Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen
Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is a prominent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist at the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University. Dr. Hansen is a specialist on the ancient Maya and also a director of the Mirador Basin...
, a specialist in the Maya, assistant professor of archaeology at Idaho State University
Idaho State University
Idaho State University is a public university located in Pocatello, Idaho. It has outreach programs in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho Falls, Boise, and Twin Falls....
, and director of the Mirador Basin
Mirador Basin
The Mirador Basin is a geological depression found in the remote rainforest of the northern department of Petén, Guatemala. Mirador Basin consists of two true basins, consisting of shallowly sloping terrain dominated by low-lying swamps called bajos; one draining into the San Pedro River and the...
Project, an effort to preserve a large swath of the Guatemalan rain forest and its Maya ruins. Gibson has said of Hansen's involvement: "Richard's enthusiasm for what he does is infectious. He was able to reassure us and make us feel secure that what we were writing had some authenticity as well as imagination."
Despite this supposed effort towards a degree of historical accuracy, other scholars of Mesoamerican history have noted numerous non-trivial misrepresentations . See further coverage on the film's questionable historical accuracy and representation of the Maya below under "Controversies."
Gibson is interested in using unfamiliar languages on film, having already used Aramaic
Aramaic language
Aramaic is a group of languages belonging to the Afroasiatic language phylum. The name of the language is based on the name of Aram, an ancient region in central Syria. Within this family, Aramaic belongs to the Semitic family, and more specifically, is a part of the Northwest Semitic subfamily,...
, Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
and Hebrew in his religious blockbuster
Blockbuster (entertainment)
Blockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry...
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
. In Apocalypto, the dialogue is entirely in the Yucatec Maya language. Gibson explains: "I think hearing a different language allows the audience to completely suspend their own reality and get drawn into the world of the film. And more importantly, this also puts the emphasis on the cinematic visuals, which are a kind of universal language of the heart."
Casting
Mel GibsonMel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
chose a cast of actors who were from Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
and the Yucatán
Yucatán
Yucatán officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Yucatán is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 106 municipalities and its capital city is Mérida....
, or who were descendants of indigenous peoples of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was important for the director that "these characters have to be utterly believable as pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Mesoamericans." Some of the youngest and oldest cast members were Maya who knew no language besides Maya and had never seen a tall building before.
Gibson explained that he wanted to cast unknown actors so that they could play certain mythic types without the audiences associating them with prior roles. "In terms of casting it, you always have many choices. You can go against type, or with type. On this one I have purposely chosen an archetypal selection, casting it right with type, because of the obscure dialect and the unfamiliar period in which the story is set." In addition to the lead actors, some scenes required as many as 700 extras.
Costumes and makeup
The production team consisted of a large group of make-up artists and costume designers who worked to recreate the Maya look for the large cast. Led by Aldo SignorettiAldo Signoretti
Aldo Signoretti is an Italian make-up artist. He was three time nominated for the Academy Award for Makeup, the first time for his work in Moulin Rouge! , the second time for his work in Apocalypto and the third time for his work in Il divo .-External links:...
, the make-up artists daily applied the required tattoos, scarification, and earlobe extension to all of the onscreen actors. According to advisor Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen
Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is a prominent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist at the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University. Dr. Hansen is a specialist on the ancient Maya and also a director of the Mirador Basin...
, the choices in body make-up were based on both artistic license and fact: "I spent hours and hours going through the pottery and the images looking for tattoos. The scarification and tattooing was all researched, the inlaid jade teeth are in there, the ear spools are in there. There is a little doohickey that comes down from the ear through the nose into the septum
Nasal septum
The nasal septum separates the left and right airways in the nose, dividing the two nostrils.It is depressed by the Depressor septi nasi muscle.-Composition:The fleshy external end of the nasal septum is sometimes also called columella....
– that was entirely their artistic innovation." An example of attention to detail is the left arm tattoo of Seven, Jaguar Paw's wife, which is a horizontal band with two dots above – the Mayan symbol for the number seven
Maya numerals
Maya Numerals were a vigesimal numeral system used by the Pre-Columbian Maya civilization.The numerals are made up of three symbols; zero , one and five...
.
Simon Atherton, an English armorer and weapon-maker who worked with Gibson on Braveheart
Braveheart
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical drama war film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. The film was written for the screen and then novelized by Randall Wallace...
, was hired this time to research and provide the Maya weapons. Gibson let Atherton play the cross-bearing Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
friar
Friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders.-Friars and monks:...
who appears on a boat at the end of the film.
Set design
Mel GibsonMel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
wanted Apocalypto to feature sets with actual buildings rather than relying on computer-generated images
Computer-generated imagery
Computer-generated imagery is the application of the field of computer graphics or, more specifically, 3D computer graphics to special effects in art, video games, films, television programs, commercials, simulators and simulation generally, and printed media...
. Most of the step pyramids seen at the Maya city were models designed by Thomas E. Sanders
Thomas E. Sanders
Thomas E. Sanders is production designer. He has been nominated for two Academy Awards in the category Best Art Direction.-Selected filmography:* Dracula * Saving Private Ryan -External links:...
. Sanders explained his approach, "We wanted to set up the Mayan world, but we were not trying to do a documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
. Visually, we wanted to go for what would have the most impact. Just as on Braveheart, you are treading the line of history and cinematography. Our job is to do a beautiful movie."
However, while many of the architectural details of Maya cities are correct, they are blended from different locations and eras, a decision Farhad Safinia
Farhad Safinia
Farhad Safinia is a screenwriter and film/TV producer, best known for Apocalypto and Boss.-Personal life:Farhad Safinia was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1975. He left Iran with his family at the age of four to live in Paris, then London...
said was made for aesthetic reasons. While Apocalypto is set during the post-classic period of Maya civilization, the central pyramid of the film comes from the classic period, which ended in A.D. 900. Furthermore, the temples are in the shape of those of Tikal
Tikal
Tikal is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centres of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the archaeological region of the Petén Basin in what is now northern Guatemala...
in the central lowlands classic
Mesoamerican chronology
Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian , the Archaic , the Preclassic , the Classic , and the Postclassic...
style but decorated with the Puuc
Puuc
Puuc is the name of either a region in the Mexican state of Yucatán or a Maya architectural style prevalent in that region. The word "puuc" is derived from the Maya term for "hill". Since the Yucatán is relatively flat, this term was extended to encompass the large karstic range of hills in the...
style elements of the north west Yucatan centuries later. Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen
Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is a prominent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist at the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University. Dr. Hansen is a specialist on the ancient Maya and also a director of the Mirador Basin...
comments, "There was nothing in the post-classic period that would match the size and majesty of that pyramid in the film. But Gibson … was trying to depict opulence, wealth, consumption of resources." The mural in the arched walkway combined elements from the Maya codices
Maya codices
Maya codices are folding books stemming from the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, written in Maya hieroglyphic script on Mesoamerican bark cloth, made from the inner bark of certain trees, the main being the wild fig tree or Amate . Paper, generally known by the Nahuatl word amatl, was named by...
, the Bonampak
Bonampak
Bonampak is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The site is approximately south of the larger site of Yaxchilan, under which Bonampak was a dependency, and the border with Guatemala...
murals (over 700 years earlier than the film's setting), and the San Bartolo
San Bartolo (Maya site)
San Bartolo is a small pre-Columbian Maya archaeological site located in the Department of Petén in northern Guatemala, northeast of Tikal and roughly fifty miles from the nearest settlement...
murals (some 1500 years earlier than the film's setting).
Filming
Gibson filmed Apocalypto mainly in CatemacoCatemaco
Catemaco is a municipality and city in the southeast of Mexican state of Veracruz, in the Sierra de Los Tuxtlas volcanic mountain range, along the Gulf of Mexico...
, San Andrés Tuxtla and Paso de Ovejas
Paso de Ovejas
Paso de Ovejas is a city in the Mexican state of Veracruz.It serves as the municipal seat for the surrounding municipality of the same name.Paso de Ovejas is bordered byLa Antigua, Veracruz, and Puente Nacional.It is on the railroad and on...
in the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
state of Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
. The waterfall scene was filmed on a real waterfall called Salto de Eyipantla, located in San Andrés Tuxtla. Other filming by second-unit crews took place in El Petén, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and in Great Britain
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...
. The film was originally slated for an August 4, 2006, release, but Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures
Touchstone Pictures is an American film production label and is one of several film labels of the Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group. Established in 1984, its releases typically feature more mature themes and darker tones than those that are released under the Walt Disney Pictures banner.Touchstone...
delayed the release date to December 8, 2006, due to heavy rains and two hurricanes interfering with filming in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. Principal photography ended in July 2006.
Apocalypto was shot on high-definition
High-definition video
High-definition video or HD video refers to any video system of higher resolution than standard-definition video, and most commonly involves display resolutions of 1,280×720 pixels or 1,920×1,080 pixels...
digital video
Digital video
Digital video is a type of digital recording system that works by using a digital rather than an analog video signal.The terms camera, video camera, and camcorder are used interchangeably in this article.- History :...
, using the Panavision Genesis
Genesis (Panavision)
The Genesis is Panavision's high-end digital movie camera, which uses a proprietary, full frame 35mm-width, 1.78:1 aspect ratio, 12.4-megapixel, RGB filtered CCD. It was first used by a feature crew to shoot Bryan Singer's Superman Returns and was shortly followed up thereafter by the World War I...
camera. During filming, Gibson and cinematographer Dean Semler
Dean Semler
Dean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C. is an Australian cinematographer. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director.-Early years:...
employed the use of Spydercam
Spydercam
Spydercam is a type of film camera, used for aerial or suspended shots. Using wires which are connected to a ceiling or building, it is used as an alternative to a crane or a different suspension system.-List of films with Spydercam:*10,000 B.C...
, a suspended camera system allowing shooting from atop. This equipment was used in a scene in which Jaguar Paw leaps off a waterfall.
A number of animals are featured in Apocalypto, including a Baird's tapir
Baird's Tapir
Baird’s Tapir is a species of tapir that is native to Central America and northern South America. It is one of three Latin American species of tapir.-Names:...
and a black jaguar
Black panther
A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
. Animatronics
Animatronics
Animatronics is the use of mechatronics to create machines which seem animate rather than robotic. Animatronic creations include animals , plants and even mythical creatures...
or puppets were employed for the scenes injurious to animals.
Soundtrack
The soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
to Apocalypto was composed by James Horner
James Horner
James Roy Horner is an American composer, orchestrator and conductor of orchestral and film music. He is noted for the integration of choral and electronic elements in many of his film scores, and for frequent use of Celtic musical elements...
in his third collaboration with director Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
. The soundtrack lacks a traditional orchestral score and instead features a large array of exotic instruments and vocals by Pakistani singer Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Rahat Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
Rahat Fateh Ali Khan is a Pakistani musician, and primarily a singer of Qawwali, a devotional music of the Sufis. He is the nephew of the late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. In addition to Qawwali, he also performs ghazals and other light music...
.
Distribution and marketing
While Mel GibsonMel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
financed the film through his Icon Productions
Icon Productions
Icon Productions LLC is an American independent production company founded in August 1989 by actor/director Mel Gibson and Australian producing partner Bruce Davey.-History:Icon started when Gibson was having trouble in financing the 1990 film Hamlet...
, Disney signed on to distribute
Film distribution
The distribution of a film is the process through which a movie is made available to watch for an audience by a film distributor...
Apocalypto for a fee in certain markets. The publicity for the film started with a December 2005 teaser trailer that was filmed before the start of principal photography and before Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood is a Native American actor, musician, dancer and artist. He was born in Belton, Texas.-Acting career:...
was cast as Jaguar Paw. As a joke, Gibson inserted a subliminal cameo of the bearded director in a plaid shirt with a cigarette hanging from his mouth posing next to a group of dust-covered Maya. A clean-shaven Gibson also filmed a Mayan-language segment for the introduction of the 2006 Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
in which he declined to host the ceremony.
On September 23, 2006, Gibson pre-screened the unfinished film to two predominantly Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
audiences in the US state
U.S. state
A U.S. state is any one of the 50 federated states of the United States of America that share sovereignty with the federal government. Because of this shared sovereignty, an American is a citizen both of the federal entity and of his or her state of domicile. Four states use the official title of...
of Oklahoma
Oklahoma
Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, at the Riverwind Casino
Riverwind Casino
Riverwind Casino is a casino located just outside of Norman, Oklahoma that opened in 2006. The casino, owned and operated by the Chickasaw Nation is one of the largest in the state. In addition to the casino floor, the facility also has two restaurants, a lounge, a food court, several bars, valet...
in Goldsby
Goldsby, Oklahoma
Goldsby is a town in McClain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 1,204 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Goldsby is located at ....
, owned by the Chickasaw Nation
Chickasaw Nation
The Chickasaw Nation is a federally recognized Native American nation, located in Oklahoma. They are one of the members of the Five Civilized Tribes. The Five Civilized Tribes were differentiated from other Indian reservations in that they had semi-autonomous constitutional governments and...
, and at Cameron University
Cameron University
Cameron University is a four-year, state-funded university located in Lawton, Oklahoma, that offers more than 50 degrees through two-year, four-year and graduate programs. The degree programs emphasize the liberal arts, science and technology and graduate and professional studies...
in Lawton
Lawton, Oklahoma
The city of Lawton is the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. Located in the southwestern region of Oklahoma approximately southwest of Oklahoma City, it is the principal city of the Lawton Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. He also did a pre-screening in Austin
Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, on September 24 in conjunction with one of the film's stars, Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood
Rudy Youngblood is a Native American actor, musician, dancer and artist. He was born in Belton, Texas.-Acting career:...
. In Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, Gibson screened Apocalypto and participated in a Q&A session for Latin Business Association and for members of the Maya community. Due to an enthusiastic response from exhibitors, Disney opened the film on more than 2,500 screens in the United States.
Themes
According to Mel GibsonMel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
, the Mayan setting of Apocalypto is "merely the backdrop" for a more universal story of exploring "civilizations and what undermines them". Although it is not directly expressed in the film, the background to the events depicted is the collapse of the Maya civilization
Classic Maya collapse
The Classic Maya Collapse refers to the decline and abandonment of the Classic Period Maya cities of the southern Maya lowlands of Mesoamerica between the 8th and 9th centuries. This should not be confused with the collapse of the Preclassic Maya in the 2nd century AD...
, which the filmmakers researched before writing. According to archaeologist Michael D. Coe, "Maya civilization in the Central Area reached its full glory in the early eighth century, but it must have contained the seeds of its own destruction, for in the century and a half that followed, all its magnificent cities had fallen into decline and ultimately suffered abandonment. This was surely one of the most profound social and demographic catastrophes of all human history." Coe lists "environmental collapse" as one of the leading causes of the fall of the great empire, alongside "endemic warfare", "overpopulation", and "drought". "There is mounting evidence for massive deforestation and erosion throughout the Central Area. The Maya apocalypse, for such it was, surely had ecological roots," explains Coe. The corrosive forces of corruption are illustrated in specific scenes throughout the film. Excessive consumption can be seen in the extravagant lifestyle of the upper-class Maya, their vast wealth contrasted with the sickly, the extremely poor, and the enslaved. Environmental degradation is portrayed both in the exploitation of natural resources such as the over-mining and farming of the land, but also through the treatment of people, families and entire tribes as resources to be harvested and sold to slavery. Political corruption is seen in the leaders' manipulation, the human sacrifice
Human sacrifice
Human sacrifice is the act of killing one or more human beings as part of a religious ritual . Its typology closely parallels the various practices of ritual slaughter of animals and of religious sacrifice in general. Human sacrifice has been practised in various cultures throughout history...
on a large scale, and the slave trade. The film shows slaves being forced to create the lime stucco
Stucco
Stucco or render is a material made of an aggregate, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as decorative coating for walls and ceilings and as a sculptural and artistic material in architecture...
cement that covered their temples, an act that some historians consider a major factor in the Maya decline. One calculation estimates that it would take five tons of jungle forestry to make one ton of quicklime. Historical consultant Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen
Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is a prominent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist at the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University. Dr. Hansen is a specialist on the ancient Maya and also a director of the Mirador Basin...
explains, "I found one pyramid in El Mirador
El Mirador
El Mirador is a large pre-Columbian Mayan settlement, located in the north of the modern department of El Petén, Guatemala.-Discovery:El Mirador was first discovered in 1926, and was photographed from the air in 1930, but the remote site deep in the jungle had little more attention paid to it until...
that would have required nearly 650 hectares (1,600 acres) of every single available tree just to cover one building with lime stucco... Epic construction was happening... creating devastation on a huge scale"
The filmmakers intended this depiction of the Maya collapse to have relevance for contemporary society. The problems "faced by the Maya are extraordinarily similar to those faced today by our own civilization" co-writer Safinia stated during production, "especially when it comes to widespread environmental degradation, excessive consumption and political corruption". Gibson himself has stated that the film is an attempt at illustrating the parallels between a great fallen empire of the past and the great empires of today, saying "People think that modern man is so enlightened, but we're susceptible to the same forces – and we are also capable of the same heroism and transcendence." The film serves as a cultural critique – in Hansen's words, a "social statement" – sending the message that it is never a mistake to question our own assumptions about morality.
However, Gibson has also stated that he wanted the film to be hopeful rather than entirely negative. Gibson has defined the title as "a new beginning or an unveiling – a revelation"; he says "Everything has a beginning and an end, and all civilizations have operated like that". The Greek word is in fact a verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
meaning "I uncover", "disclose", or "reveal". Gibson has also said a theme of the film is the exploration of primal fears.
Critical response
The film was released in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on December 8, 2006, to generally positive reviews from film critics. Richard Roeper
Richard Roeper
Richard E. Roeper is an American columnist and film critic for The Chicago Sun-Times and now a co-host on The Roe Conn Show on WLS-AM...
and guest critic Aisha Tyler
Aisha Tyler
Aisha N. Tyler is an American actress, stand-up comedian, and author, known for her regular role as Andrea Marino in the first season of Ghost Whisperer and voicing Lana Kane in Archer, as well as her recurring roles in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, Talk Soup, and on Friends as Charlie...
on the television show Ebert & Roeper gave it "two big thumbs up" rating. Michael Medved
Michael Medved
Michael Medved is an American radio host, author, political commentator and film critic. His Seattle, Washington-based nationally syndicated talk show, The Michael Medved Show, airs throughout the U.S...
gave Apocalypto four stars (out of four) calling the film "an adrenaline-drenched chase movie" and "a visceral visual experience." Overall, the review tallying website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 115 out of the 179 reviews they tallied were positive for a score of 64% and a certification of "fresh"; among Top Critics, Rotten Tomatoes reported a mixed score of 58%, with 25 of 43 reviews by noted reviewers being positive.
The film was released less than six months after Gibson's 2006 DUI incident, where the director made antisemitic comments to police after being stopped on suspicion of driving under the influence
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
of alcohol; the incident garnered Gibson much negative publicity and magnified concerns some had over alleged antisemitism in his previous film, The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ
The Passion of the Christ is a 2004 American drama film directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the New Testament Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John...
. Several key film critics alluded to the incident in their reviews of Apocalypto: In his positive review, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
' A. O. Scott
A. O. Scott
Anthony Oliver Scott, known as A. O. Scott , is an American journalist and critic. He is a chief film critic for The New York Times, along with Manohla Dargis.-Background and education:...
commented: "say what you will about him – about his problem with booze or his problem with Jews – he is a serious filmmaker." The Boston Globe review came to a similar conclusion, noting that "Gibson may be a lunatic, but he's our lunatic, and while I wouldn't wish him behind the wheel of a car after happy hour or at a B'nai Brith function anytime, behind a camera is another matter." In a negative review, Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
noted "People are curious about this movie because of what might be called extra-textual reasons, because its director is an erratic and charismatic Hollywood figure who would have totally marginalized himself by now if he didn't possess a crude gift for crafting violent pop entertainment."
Apocalypto gained some passionate champions in the Hollywood community. Actor Robert Duvall
Robert Duvall
Robert Selden Duvall is an American actor and director. He has won an Academy Award, two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and a BAFTA over the course of his career....
called it "maybe the best movie I've seen in 25 years". Director Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s, he began his career as an independent filmmaker with films employing nonlinear storylines and the aestheticization of violence...
said, "I think it's a masterpiece. It was perhaps the best film of that year. I think it was the best artistic film of that year." Actor Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos
Edward James Olmos is an American actor and director. Among his most memorable roles are William Adama in the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica, Lt...
said, "I was totally caught off guard. It's arguably the best movie I've seen in years. I was blown away."
Box office
The film registered a wider number of viewers than PerfumePerfume: The Story of a Murderer (film)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer is a 2006 German thriller film directed by Tom Tykwer and written by Andrew Birkin, Bernd Eichinger and Tykwer. It is based on the 1985 novel Perfume by Patrick Süskind. Set in 18th century France, the film tells the story of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille , an olfactory...
and Rocky Balboa
Rocky Balboa (film)
Rocky Balboa is the sixth and final film in the Rocky franchise, directed by and starring Sylvester Stallone. The film, which was also written by Stallone who plays underdog boxer Rocky Balboa, is the sixth film in the Rocky series that began with the Academy Award-winning Rocky thirty years...
. It even displaced memorable Mexican premieres such as Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
and Poseidon
Poseidon (film)
Poseidon is a 2006 disaster film directed by Wolfgang Petersen, the third film adaptation of the novel The Poseidon Adventure written by Paul Gallico, and a loose remake of the 1972 film of the same name. It stars Kurt Russell, Josh Lucas and Richard Dreyfuss. It was directed by Wolfgang Petersen...
. According to polls performed by the newspaper Reforma
Reforma
Reforma is a Mexican newspaper based in Mexico City. It has 276,700 readers in Mexico City. The paper shares content with other papers in parent newsgroup Grupo Reforma. The cumulative readership of the newsgroup is above 400,000...
, 80% of polled Mexicans labeled the film as "very good" or "good".
Awards
For his role as producer and director of the film, Mel GibsonMel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
was given the Trustee Award by the First Americans in the Arts
First Americans in the Arts
First Americans in the Arts is a non-profit organization based in Beverly Hills, California. According to its website, the organization was created "to recognize, honor and promote American Indian participation in the powerful arena of the entertainment industry, incorporating the areas of film,...
organization. Gibson was also awarded the Latino Business Association's Chairman's Visionary Award for his work on Apocalypto on November 2, 2006, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. At the ceremony, Gibson said that the film was a "badge of honor for the Latino community." Gibson also stated that Apocalypto would help dismiss the notion that "history only began with Europeans".
Won
- Central Ohio Film Critics Association – COFCA Award for Best Cinematography (2007) – Dean SemlerDean SemlerDean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C. is an Australian cinematographer. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director.-Early years:...
- Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards – DFWFCA Award for Best Cinematography (2006) – Dean SemlerDean SemlerDean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C. is an Australian cinematographer. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director.-Early years:...
- First Americans in the ArtsFirst Americans in the ArtsFirst Americans in the Arts is a non-profit organization based in Beverly Hills, California. According to its website, the organization was created "to recognize, honor and promote American Indian participation in the powerful arena of the entertainment industry, incorporating the areas of film,...
– FAITA Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor (2007) – Rudy YoungbloodRudy YoungbloodRudy Youngblood is a Native American actor, musician, dancer and artist. He was born in Belton, Texas.-Acting career:... - First Americans in the ArtsFirst Americans in the ArtsFirst Americans in the Arts is a non-profit organization based in Beverly Hills, California. According to its website, the organization was created "to recognize, honor and promote American Indian participation in the powerful arena of the entertainment industry, incorporating the areas of film,...
– FAITA Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor (Supporting) (2007) – Morris BirdyellowheadMorris BirdyellowheadMorris Birdyellowhead is a Canadian actor best known for his portrayal of Flint Sky in the 2006 epic film Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson.He is a member of the Paul First Nation in Alberta.... - Imagen FoundationImagen FoundationThe Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry"....
– Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actor (2007) – Gerardo TaracenaGerardo TaracenaGerardo Taracena is a Mexican film and theatre actor and dancer. He is known for his roles in Apocalypto, Man on Fire, American Family, The Mexican and Sin Nombre... - Imagen Foundation – Imagen Award for Best Supporting Actress (2007) – Dalia Hernandez
- Motion Picture Sound EditorsMotion Picture Sound EditorsFounded in 1953, Motion Picture Sound Editors is an honorary society of motion picture sound editors. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound editors, show the artistic merit of the soundtracks, and improve the professional relationship of its...
, USAUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
– Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing for Music in a Feature Film (2007) – Dick Bernstein (music editor), Jim Henrikson (music editor) - Phoenix Film Critics SocietyPhoenix Film Critics SocietyThe Phoenix Film Critics Society is an organization of film reviewers from Phoenix-based publications.In December of each year, the PFCS meets to vote on their Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards for films released in the same calendar year.Categories of awards include:* Best Actor The Phoenix...
– PFCS Award for Best Cinematography (2006) – Dean Semler
Nominated
- Academy AwardsAcademy AwardsAn Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
, USA – Oscar for Best Makeup (2007) – Aldo SignorettiAldo SignorettiAldo Signoretti is an Italian make-up artist. He was three time nominated for the Academy Award for Makeup, the first time for his work in Moulin Rouge! , the second time for his work in Apocalypto and the third time for his work in Il divo .-External links:...
, Vittorio SodanoVittorio SodanoVittorio Sodano is an Italian make-up artist. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Makeup for his work in Apocalypto and for Il divo .... - Academy Awards, USA – Oscar for Best Sound Editing (2007) – Sean McCormack, Kami AsgarKami AsgarKami Asgar is an Iranian-American Supervising Sound Editor. Asgar is an industry professional and has over 60 credits as sound producer/editor in both film and television....
- Academy Awards, USA – Oscar for Best Sound Mixing (2007) – Kevin O'ConnellKevin O'Connell (sound re-recording mixer)Kevin O'Connell is a sound re-recording mixer. He holds the record for most Academy Award nominations without a win at 20, having originally set the record in 2006 with his 18th nomination and loss, making him the "unluckiest nominee in the history of the Academy Awards".-Awards and...
, Greg P. RussellGreg P. RussellGreg P. Russell is an American sound engineer. He has been nominated for fourteen Academy Awards in the category Best Sound. He has worked on nearly 200 films since 1970...
, Fernando CámaraFernando CámaraFernando Cámara is an American sound engineer. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Sound for the film Apocalypto. He has worked on over 30 films since 1979.-External links:... - Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA – Saturn Award for Best Direction (2007) – Mel GibsonMel GibsonMel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
- Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA – Saturn Award for Best International Film (2007)
- American Society of CinematographersAmerican Society of CinematographersThe American Society of Cinematographers is an educational, cultural, and professional organization. It is not a labor union, and it is not a guild. Membership is by invitation and is extended only to directors of photography and special effects experts with distinguished credits in the film...
, USA – ASC Award for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Theatrical Releases (2007) – Dean SemlerDean SemlerDean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C. is an Australian cinematographer. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director.-Early years:... - BAFTA Awards – BAFTA Film Award for Best Film not in the English Language (2007) – Mel Gibson, Bruce DaveyBruce DaveyBruce Davey is an Australian film producer.A partner in Icon Entertainment alongside Mel Gibson, Sydney-born Davey has produced many films including Apocalypto, The Passion of the Christ, Push, and Braveheart for which he won an Academy Award. Davey began as Gibson’s CPA after being recommended by...
- Broadcast Film Critics Association AwardsBroadcast Film Critics Association AwardsThe Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards, commonly called the Critics' Choice Awards, are bestowed annually by the Broadcast Film Critics Association to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Nominees are selected by written ballots in a week-long voting period, and are announced in...
– BFCA Award for Best Foreign Language Film (2007) - Chicago Film Critics Association Awards – CFCA Award for Best Foreign Language Film (2006)
- Golden Globes, USA – Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film (2007)
- Hollywood Reporter Key Art Awards – Key Art Award for Best Action-Adventure Poster (2006)
- Imagen FoundationImagen FoundationThe Imagen Awards are administered by the Imagen Foundation, an organization dedicated to "encouraging and recognizing the positive portrayals of Latinos in the entertainment industry"....
– Imagen Award for Best Picture (2007) - Motion Picture Sound EditorsMotion Picture Sound EditorsFounded in 1953, Motion Picture Sound Editors is an honorary society of motion picture sound editors. The society's goals are to educate others about and increase the recognition of the sound editors, show the artistic merit of the soundtracks, and improve the professional relationship of its...
, USA – Golden Reel Award for Best Sound Editing in a Feature Film: Dialogue and Automated Dialogue Replacement (2007) – Sean McCormack (supervising sound editor), Kami AsgarKami AsgarKami Asgar is an Iranian-American Supervising Sound Editor. Asgar is an industry professional and has over 60 credits as sound producer/editor in both film and television....
(supervising sound editor), Scott G.G. Haller (supervising dialogue editor), Jessica Gallavan (supervising ADR editorDubbing (filmmaking)Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
), Lisa J. Levine (supervising ADR editorDubbing (filmmaking)Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
), Linda Folk (supervising ADR editorDubbing (filmmaking)Dubbing is the post-production process of recording and replacing voices on a motion picture or television soundtrack subsequent to the original shooting. The term most commonly refers to the substitution of the voices of the actors shown on the screen by those of different performers, who may be...
) - Online Film Critics Society Awards – OFCS Award for Best Cinematography (2007) – Dean SemlerDean SemlerDean Semler, A.C.S., A.S.C. is an Australian cinematographer. Over his career, he has worked as a cinematographer, camera operator, director, second unit director, and assistant director.-Early years:...
- Satellite AwardsSatellite AwardsThe Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...
– Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture, Foreign Language (2006) - St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Awards – Award for Best Foreign Language Film (2006)
Representation of the Maya
William Booth of The Washington PostThe Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
wrote that the film depicts the Maya as a "super-cruel, psycho-sadistic society on the skids, a ghoulscape engaged in widespread slavery, reckless sewage treatment and bad rave dancing, with a real lust for human blood." Just prior to its release, Apocalypto was criticized by activists in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, including Lucio Yaxon, who charged that the trailer depicts Maya as savages. In her review of the film, anthropologist Traci Ardren wrote that Apocalypto was biased because "no mention is made of the achievements in science and art, the profound spirituality and connection to agricultural cycles, or the engineering feats of Maya cities". Apocalypto also sparked a strong condemnation from art history professor Julia Guernsey, a Mesoamerican specialist, who said, "I think it's despicable. It's offensive to Maya people. It's offensive to those of us who try to teach cultural sensitivity and alternative world views that might not match our own 21st century Western ones but are nonetheless valid."
Other writers felt that Gibson's film was more truthful about the Maya than other representations. One Mexican reporter, Juan E. Pardinas, wrote that "this historical interpretation bears some resemblances with reality […]. Mel Gibson's characters are more similar to the Mayas of the Bonampak
Bonampak
Bonampak is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The site is approximately south of the larger site of Yaxchilan, under which Bonampak was a dependency, and the border with Guatemala...
's murals than the ones that appear in the Mexican school textbooks." "The first researchers tried to make a distinction between the 'peaceful' Maya and the 'brutal' cultures of central Mexico", David Stuart
David Stuart (Mayanist)
David Stuart is a Mayanist scholar and professor of Mesoamerican art and writing at the University of Texas at Austin.-Early life:He is the son of Mayanist scholars George Stuart and Gene S. Stuart...
wrote in a 2003 article. "They even tried to say human sacrifice was rare among the Maya." But in carvings and mural paintings, Stuart said: "we have now found more and greater similarities between the Aztecs and Mayas – including a Maya ceremony in which a grotesquely costumed priest is shown pulling the entrails from a bound and apparently living sacrificial victim".
Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen
Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is a prominent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist at the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University. Dr. Hansen is a specialist on the ancient Maya and also a director of the Mirador Basin...
, who was a historical consultant on the film, stated that the impact the film will have on Maya archaeology will be beneficial:
"It is a wonderful opportunity to focus world attention on the ancient Maya and to realize the role they played in world history." However, in an interview with the Washington Post, Hansen conceded the film "give[s] the feeling they're a sadistic lot," and said, "I'm a little apprehensive about how the contemporary Maya will take it."
Human sacrifice
Apocalypto has been criticized for portraying a type of human sacrifice which was more typical of the Aztecs than of the MayaMaya civilization
The Maya is a Mesoamerican civilization, noted for the only known fully developed written language of the pre-Columbian Americas, as well as for its art, architecture, and mathematical and astronomical systems. Initially established during the Pre-Classic period The Maya is a Mesoamerican...
. Archaeologist Lisa Lucero said, "the classic Maya really didn't go in for mass sacrifice. That was the Aztecs." Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
professor Karl Taube
Karl Taube
Karl Andreas Taube is an American Mesoamericanist, archaeologist, epigrapher and ethnohistorian, known for his publications and research into the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. he holds a position as Professor of Anthropology at the College of Humanities,...
argued that, "We know the Aztecs did that level of killing. Their accounts speak of 20,000." According to the film's technical advisor, the film was meant to describe the post-classic period of the Maya when fiercer influences like the Toltecs and Aztecs arrived. According to Hansen, "We know warfare was going on. The Postclassic center of Tulum is a walled city; these sites had to be in defensive positions. There was tremendous Aztec influence by this time. The Aztecs were clearly ruthless in their conquest and pursuit of sacrificial victims, a practice that spilled over into some of the Maya areas." Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
professor Stephen Houston made the criticism that sacrifice victims were more likely to be royalty and elites rather than common forest dwellers, as shown in Apocalypto. In contrast, Associate Professor William R. Fowler states that for major favors, worshippers "offered the gods human sacrifice, usually children, slaves, or prisoners of war". Anthropology
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
professor Karl Taube
Karl Taube
Karl Andreas Taube is an American Mesoamericanist, archaeologist, epigrapher and ethnohistorian, known for his publications and research into the pre-Columbian cultures of Mesoamerica and the American Southwest. he holds a position as Professor of Anthropology at the College of Humanities,...
criticized the film's apparent depiction of widespread slavery
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, saying, "We have no evidence of large numbers of slaves." Another disputed scene, when Jaguar Paw and the rest of captives are used as target practice, was acknowledged by the filmmakers to be invented as a plot device for igniting the chase sequence. Some anthropologists objected to the presence of a huge pit filled with rotting corpses near their fields of the Maya. Richard D. Hansen
Richard D. Hansen
Dr. Richard D. Hansen, Ph.D, is a prominent American archaeologist and currently Senior Scientist at the Institute for Mesoamerican Research in the Department of Anthropology at Idaho State University. Dr. Hansen is a specialist on the ancient Maya and also a director of the Mirador Basin...
acknowledges that this is "conjecture", saying that "all [Gibson was] trying to do there is express the horror of it".
The Washington Post reported that the famous Bonampak
Bonampak
Bonampak is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the Mexican state of Chiapas. The site is approximately south of the larger site of Yaxchilan, under which Bonampak was a dependency, and the border with Guatemala...
murals were digitally altered to show a warrior holding a dripping human heart, which is not present in the original.
Arrival of the Spaniards
According to the DVDDVD
A DVD is an optical disc storage media format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity than Compact Discs while having the same dimensions....
commentary track by Mel Gibson
Mel Gibson
Mel Colm-Cille Gerard Gibson, AO is an American actor, film director, producer and screenwriter. Born in Peekskill, New York, Gibson moved with his parents to Sydney, Australia when he was 12 years old and later studied acting at the Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art.After appearing in...
and Farhad Safinia
Farhad Safinia
Farhad Safinia is a screenwriter and film/TV producer, best known for Apocalypto and Boss.-Personal life:Farhad Safinia was born in Tehran, Iran, in 1975. He left Iran with his family at the age of four to live in Paris, then London...
, the ending of the film was meant to depict the first contact between the Spaniards and Mayas that took place in 1502 during the fourth voyage of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
.
The thematic meaning of the arrival of the Europeans is a subject of disagreement. Traci Ardren wrote that the Spanish arrivals were Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
missionaries and that the film had a "blatantly colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
message that the Mayas needed saving because they were "rotten at the core". According to Ardren, the Gibson film "replays, in glorious big-budget technicolor, an offensive and racist notion that Maya people were brutal to one another long before the arrival of Europeans and thus they deserved, in fact they needed, rescue. This same idea was used for 500 years to justify the subjugation of Maya people". On the other hand, David van Biema questions whether the Spaniards are portrayed as saviors of the Mayas, since they are depicted ominously and Jaguar Paw decides to return to the woods. This view is supported by the reference of the Oracle Girl to those who would "Scratch out the earth. Scratch you out. And end your world." However, recalling the opening quote to the film ("A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within"), professors David Stuart and Stephen Houston have written the implication is that the Maya are so evil that they were "a civilization...that deserves to die."