first of all, let me tell u my defination of a great movie (cuz diff ppl has diff defination of good, and my taste is always out.. haha): good story, good visual effects and editing, costume, sound and then lastly, it's a non-compromise movie. now days movies r meeting market, consumer's interest and business requirement, tat's y some movies have changed n modified the 'real life/story' or trying to minimise the violence (definately tis is rite, but i think if there's so much of restriction, then better not to do to keep it's original master piece) n nvr deny, i oso prefer watching commercial movie, cuz for me, wat for let my mind so stress to watch those serious movie when i wanna relax myself to enjoy a movie.. but once a while i'll watch tis kind of movie la, to see how professional director produce a great movie..
ok, let's talk bout tis movie, no famous / well known actor but very good actors n actress to bring out the story; it's kinda non-compromise movie (not at all due to some historical inaccuracies), i'll say althou it's very violent but tis is wat the story is all about. (thank God, i'm not staying in such ancient >_<) i admire Jaguar Paw (main role), his own will power caused by his love towards his family tat save him n his family. i think a person tat nvr give up n keep upholding his dream, he can overcome the problem n archive his dream, ofcuz another important key is opportunity which this is cant gained by ourself, but only God. like the leopard in the movie, it seems like another stumbling block to take Jaguar Paw's life but at the end, tis leopard helps to destroyed his enemy..
Directed by: Mel Gibson
Writing credits: Mel Gibson (written by) & Farhad Safinia (written by)
Produced by:
Vicki Christianson.... executive producer
Bruce Davey.... producer
Ned Dowd.... executive producer
Mel Gibson.... producer
Sergio Miranda.... producer: Costa Rica
Farhad Safinia.... co-producer
Original Music by: James Horner
Cinematography by: Dean Semler
Film Editing by: John Wright
Casting by: Carla Hool
Production Design by: Thomas E. Sanders (as Tom Sanders)
Art Direction by: Roberto Bonelli & Naaman Marshall
Set Decoration by: Jay Aroesty
Costume Design by: Mayes C. Rubeo
here goes the story:
-Apocalypto-
Opening quote: "A great civilization is not conquered from without until it has destroyed itself from within." — W. Durant
During a tapir hunt in the Mesoamerican jungle, Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood), his father Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead), and their fellow tribesmen encounter a procession of traumatized and fearful refugees. The procession's leader explains that their lands have been ravaged, and with Flint Sky's permission, the procession passes through the forest. When Jaguar Paw and his tribesmen return to their village, Flint Sky tells his son not to let the procession's fearful state seep into him. At night, the tribe's elder tells the village a fable of man dangerously never filling his want, despite having the capabilities of the world's animals. The villagers follow the story with music and dance, leaving Jaguar Paw to ponder.
The next morning, after Jaguar Paw wakes from a nightmare, he sees strangers enter the village, setting aflame homes with their torches. The raiders, led by Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo), attack the villagers and subdue as many as possible. Jaguar Paw slips out of the village with his pregnant wife Seven (Dalia Hernández) and his little son Turtles Run, lowering them on a vine into a small cave (a chultun, shaped something like a well)[9] to hide them. Jaguar Paw returns to his village to fight against the raiders, but he is subdued with the rest of his tribesmen. A raider whom Jaguar Paw attacked, the vicious Middle Eye (Gerardo Taracena), prepares to execute Flint Sky in front of his son. Flint Sky tells Jaguar Paw not to be afraid, and Middle Eye slits Flint Sky's throat.
Before the raiders leave the village with their prisoners, one suspicious raider severs the vine leading into the ground cave, trapping Jaguar Paw's wife and son within. The raiders and their captives trek toward a Mayan city, encountering failed maize crops and slaves producing plaster. They also pass a small girl with leprosy (alternatively congenital syphilis) who warns the raiders that their end is near. In the city's outskirts, the female villagers are sold as slaves, and the male villagers are escorted into the city to the top of a step pyramid. The high priest sacrifices several captives by pulling out their hearts and then decapitating them. When Jaguar Paw is on the altar to be sacrificed, a solar eclipse stays the priest's hand. The priest declares the sun god Kukulkan satisfied with the sacrifices, and he asks the sun god to restore light. The eclipse passes, and light returns to the world.
Zero Wolf, told to dispose of the captives by the priest, takes them to a ball field. Their captives are released in pairs to run the length of the field while the raiders target them with javelins, arrows, and stones. Jaguar Paw successfully reaches the field's end and though injured by an arrow, bypasses a raider "finisher", Zero Wolf's son, Cut Rock, by killing him. An enraged Zero Wolf pursues Jaguar Paw into the jungle with his fellow raiders. The chase leads back to the forest in which Jaguar Paw's village was located. As he flees, Jaguar Paw jumps over a high waterfall and survives. He declares from the riverbank below that the raiders are now in his territory.
Zero Wolf's raiders fall to both the forest's elements and Jaguar Paw's traps. A heavy rain sets in, which begins to flood the ground cave in which Jaguar Paw's wife and son are still trapped. Jaguar Paw defeats Middle Eye in hand-to-hand combat and kills Zero Wolf by setting off a trap meant for hunting tapir. He is chased by two remaining raiders out to a beach where they encounter conquistadors and missionaries making their way toward the shore in rowboats (the Spanish conquest of Yucatan actually started in 1519). The amazement of the raiders allows Jaguar Paw to flee. He returns into the forest to rescue his wife and son from the cave. He finds that his wife has given a submerged birth to a healthy second son, and the family is rescued. Jaguar Paw leads them deeper into the forest, leaving behind the conquistadors anchored in ships off the beach.
Info source:
http://www.apocalypto.aurum.es/noflash.html
