2006, Touchstone Pictures, Dir. Mel Gibson - Starring Rudy Youngblood, Dalia Hernandez, Jonathan Brewer, Morris Birdyellowhead, Carlos Emilio Baez, Ramirez Amilcar, Israel Contreras, Israel Rios, María Isabel Díaz, Raoul Trujillo, Rodolfo Palacios

Note: This review is not going to be a diatribe against Mel Gibson’s anti-Semitism. If I was asked to write critical analysis on Mel Gibson and not ‘Apocalypto’, then that’d be a whole different ballgame. But until then, it’s criticism on the art, not the artist.

Let’s put the hype aside. Mel Gibson’s latest project Apocalypto is a fantastic film in and of itself, working as a combination of political allegories and thrilling action. Unlike Passion of the Christ, this is not one of the director’s indulgences, but rather an argumentative piece exploring the themes of wartime, loyalty, and fear. Set in an untold period before the Spanish conquest of South America, the film depicts the Mayan civilization on the brink of collapsing, leading to a domino effect of suspicion and anxiety amongst the tribe. Gibson’s trademarks are easily noticeable, especially the use of the virtually extinct Mayan language and his love for gratuitous bloodshed. Certainly, Apocalypto will be a jarring and unexpected experience for some moviegoers, but there is plenty to enjoy and ponder. Employing the newcomer Rudy Youngblood as our persecuted hero, the controversial director’s newest work poses a rhetorical question to audiences, and miraculously explains it through one of film’s most inspiriting chase sequences.

In a small Mayan village, Jaguar Paw (Youngblood) lives peacefully with his pregnant wife Seven (Hernandez) and son Turtles Run (Baez). Like all males of the tribe, they hunt to provide for food and other goods. But when groups of ominous tribespeople start treading their ways through the village, Jaguar Paw knows something dangerous is forthcoming. After all, he has a responsibility - to raise a large family like his wise father Flint Sky (Birdyellowhead), and set an example for the village. After an omen in his dreams, our hero awakes one morning only to find a group of villainous Holcane soldiers arriving at their jungle abodes. Their purpose - kill, rape, pillage, and take the best sacrificial lambs to the empirical plazas. Led under the tight rein of Zero Wolf (Trujillo) and his deputy Snake Ink (Palacios), Jaguar Paw is forced to leave behind Seven and Turtles Run, determined to not let the empire’s collective paranoia of the sun gods turn him away from his family. As the journey unravels, our protagonist’s motives slowly begin to draw away from fear and towards independence and pride - but will be able to withstand the whim of the great Mayan dictator?

Youngblood is a prime choice for the role of Jaguar Paw: young, bold, and authentic. Despite his learning the ancient Mayan language and habits for the role, the actor successfully transforms himself from the average hunter into the oppressed prisoner and back into a courageous and revenge-driven action hero. These are characters drawn to the most rudimentary of performances, basing their actions merely off historical documents and analysis. For his first screen role ever, Youngblood triumphs. In the same note, so does Raoul Trujillo, who gives a rousing yet despicable act as the hatemongering leader Zero Wolf. Despite attaining a lower rank in the Mayan government, the enemy’s own political mania surfaces through Trujillo’s acting. He represents evil - a blindsided, jingoistic drone for an anxious civilization on the verge of a social cataclysm. Also noteworthy is Rodolfo Palacios as Snake Ink, an embittered peon whose pleasure for torture is a sight to cringe at. Jonathan Brewer should be mentioned for his comic relief role Blunted, whose inpotentency misfortunes brew laughter for the village, but have an odd dramatic comeback later in the film.

Gibson’s eye for sweeping landscapes and rainforests of Catemaco is strong, allowing the rich blue and yellow skies to mix with the palate of adobe and greenery. Like its material, Apocalypto has a continuously dark theme - much of the action springs through wooded areas, and climaxes through a solar eclipse. James Horner’s haunting instrumental score pervades all dramatic sequences, and the choice of percussion gives a rattling sensation for the chase sequence. On the topic, the film opens with the quote by Will Durant pondering “a civilization that cannot destroy itself without until it destroys itself within.” Gibson bridges this concept with what appears to be a creative analogy to the current Iraq War, and furthermore, war in general. From the introduction of a threat to the Mayans, leading to the sacrifice of strong Mayans for appeasement, and then to the fight for survival by those who stand against this anxiety, Gibson intelligently - and backhandedly - summarizes a philosophical discussion into a chase scene that will dazzle any action aficionado.

Apocalypto is a sure contender for one of 2006’s best films, as it broadly argues a heavy-hitting topic through an environment never intricately explored on the silver screen. It’s not for the weak of heart, and not for those who’ll go any distance to argue the film’s quality through the director’s own controversies. This is a hybrid experiment if I ever saw one.

2006, New Line Cinema, Dir. Catherine Hardwicke - Starring Keisha Castle-Hughes, Oscar Isaac, Hiam Abbass, Shaun Toub, Ciarán Hinds, Shohreh Aghdashloo, Stanley Townshend, Alexander Siddig, Nadim Sawalha, Eriq Ebouaney, Stefan Kalipha, Alessandro Giuggioli

Although it has visibly trailed off the coattails of Mel Gibson’s Passion of the Christ, it is still acceptable for a big-budgeted rendition of the Nativity to be filmed. Detractors will argue its lesser importance than Christ’s death, but director Catherine Hardwicke and writer Mike Rich have put together a coherent if not mildly kitschy story. Its audience appeal will be Christian families, and there won’t be any controversy stirred amongst religious groups. The Nativity Story is an inoffensive and candy-coated vision, heralding most of its dialogue and setting from the gospels of Mark and Luke, which should interest technical theologians. But beyond many of the good performances and fantastic mise-en-scène, there is an unintended glimmer of biblical braggadocio - as if the piece was written for Cecil DeMille and his cronies. The film incessantly tries to work on a grandiose scale, but it works better as a small piece of personal conflict. Regardless, Nativity is a good effort in a world of political correctness.

If you haven’t seen it in a front lawn or in front of a church, here’s how it goes. Mary (Hughes) is a 16 year old girl from Nazareth, when she receives an announcement from the angel Gabriel (Siddig) that she will bear the son of God, and that he will be named Jesus. But this is controversial in the town - she is only 16, and she has not been intimate with her new husband Joseph (Isaac). Joseph is hurt by the news, as are her parents Joachim (Toub) and Anna (Abbass). But when she learns her cousin Elizabeth (Aghdashloo) is also to bear a child - John the Baptist - Mary realizes she is part of a larger plan. It is not until Joseph himself receives word from Gabriel that his wife is not lying that he accepts his fate. Meanwhile, King Herod (Hinds) has become suspicious from prophecies that a child will become the king of kings, and orders a decree and census for every person in the land. Mary must travel with Joseph to his homeland Bethlehem to take refuge, while the three Orient magi (Sawalha, Ebouaney, and Kalipha) travel to the same destination awaiting the birth of the child.

Keisha Castle-Hughes, best known for her role in Whale Rider, must have taken the method acting a little too far when the news reported her real-life pregnancy at the age of 16. Thankfully, New Line has not advertised this fact, since her performance is relatively acceptable. She has been cast as the unconventional Mary - a teenager with a holy destiny, who is left pondering why she was chosen. The burden of having God’s child is written as a large subplot, making her job all the more outstanding. Oscar Isaac, who is a no-name actor from my point of view, does a sub-standard job as Joseph, the man who would do most anything to carry on the will of God. His chemistry with Castle-Hughes may come across to many as pedantic, but I appreciated it in the grand scale of things. Alexander Siddig is a wonderful choice for the angel Gabriel, shining (literally and figuratively) in every opportunity he has. Shohreh Aghdashloo comes across as over-exaggerated and boastful through her character Elizabeth, unlike her screen partner Stanley Townshend. The three wise men - Sawalha, Ebouaney, and Kalipha - work together as collective comic relief at first, but their roles become more solidified towards the end.

The set designs and costuming for Nativity are phenomenal, recalling a period of film dominated by biblical narratives. Even as the townspeople of Nazareth go about their daily chores, you can see a distinct emphasis on detail - from making cheeses and wine to washing laundry via ancient methods. The film, like Passion, has a gritty feel to it, adding dirt and grime to its set pieces, and even designing the kingdom of Jerusalem as a dominant metropolis with white fort walls and rekindled icons. The script ends up rushing itself for the finale, as Mary breaks water and is about to give birth. But past this hurried finish, the manger scene is one of the most powerful representations of Jesus’ birth. Ignoring what some disparagers would call literal inaccuracies about the Nativity, it is a visually stunning ten minutes, and is sure to hit its audiences with great magnitude. I was worried how the birth itself would be filmed, but I was so assured by what I saw, that it justified the making of the movie itself.

Call it what you will, but The Nativity Story isn’t the perfect Christmas movie. It has its share of faithful performances, but some of Rich’s writing is questionable. Whether or not you appreciate the fact that the film was even made, it can be said that the cast and crew maintained respect for the material regardless.