Apocalypto

In the spirit of Braveheart
by Joe De Matteo

HUGE

Mel Gibson is a great filmmaker.

Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ and now Apocalypto are all brutally honest renderings of the human experience, presented in an engaging, even exciting way.

Humans are incredible, the human spirit transcends time and place, and civilizations. Do you buy that? I do.

Did a cave dweller love her child any less than a mother in Cleveland in 2006 loves hers? When their stomachs were full and there was no threat to their safety, did a caveman envy his neighbor's wife or position in the community any less than a guy living in an apartment in the suburbs of Toronto? I've always believed not.

Understand, I'm not saying that we've got 21st Century people populating this film, we do not. What we have is humans populating this film. Humans that we can relate to. And that is what makes it all so powerful. You will relate to these people. Men, you will relate to the joking and prodding. Women, you will relate to the decisions that women have to make.

Mel Gibson's latest epic film is an exciting, strongly presented look at the pre-Columbian Mayan civilization.

In Apocalypto you will see the brutality of man, the fear engender by a blood thirsty religion and tyrannical government, as well as life lived in an island of civilization surrounded by brutal and beautiful nature.

You will also see the glorious human spirit.

Mel Gibson films celebrates the strengths and weaknesses of the human spirit. Gibson always shows us the unbridled lust of man: lust for life, lust for wealth, lust for love/sex, and control and power, as well as our, sometimes warped, sense of the divine and the demands we suspect are made upon us. He also shows us how the human spirit screams for Liberty, Justice, and Peace, and self (family included) preservation, even at the expense of battle.

This is a hard film to watch if your squeamish. But, my friend, life is a bitch.

It is not as brutal for as long as The Passion of The Christ, but it is brutal, but the excitement level may have you thinking it is.. Apocalypto is moving on other levels, too. Fear, suspense, anxiety, all play a part in keeping you at the edge of your seat.

The cinematography is nothing less than incredible. You will see things you've never seen before, not only scenery, but a way of life, a civilization. And you will see a love story you've never seen before. You will recognize your town, a little too close for comfort, maybe, but you'll relate, nonetheless.

The story is a good one, the action is non-stop - once it starts. It's a great film. I think many of you will give it a HUGE.