Give me a break, will ya’? “I don’t perfess to being a perfesser,” as Fibber McGee would declare. I’m a humble movie reviewer. I’m not qualified to review people’s problems or bizarre or bigoted behavior. Not a psychiatrist, I cannot interpret moviemakers work or condemn the work of terrible characters, unless the work dictates it and I cannot attest to anyone’s sanity or otherwise.

That stated, I can go on to write about Mel Gibson’s film Apocalypto, about the ancient Mayan civilization and its demise (from the Greek meaning Revelation.) Both the Book of Revelation and the Mayan book “Popol Vuh,” predict the collapse of civilization before the return of Christ, or, the Mayan savior, Quetzalcoatl. Mr. Gibson prefaces Apocalypto with Will Durant’s thought that, “no civilization collapses without having decayed within.” Judging from the filmmaker’s zeal in his making of The Passion of the Christ, we know that he’s drawing comparisons between the fall of the Roman Empire, the Mayans’, and today’s teeter-totter civilization. He has not subtly compared his stomach turning scenes of human sacrifice in Apocalypto, to sending our men and women to war in Iraq, which may account for the overwhelming turbulence of personal identification with the inordinate amount of violence displayed so graphically in his unbelievably, unrelenting harsh portrayal of so-called inhuman behavior. Many have denounced it. Has anyone seen newsreel footage of World War II and its aftermath? And, that was judiciously censored. The intensity of the raw violence of Apocalypto is so profound it has helped to feed the pseudo-pyschiatric frenzy – calling Gibson “Mad Mel” and here are a few more direct quotes (I swear) from reviewers: “Mad” (as above) “crazier than we thought,” “bug nuts crazy,” “a celebrity pariah,” “raving pathological,” and more.

Call him “nutzy” or what have you, I found the film extremely creative and innovative. Gibson’s ability to tell a story, almost entirely without words, is on a par with Charles Chaplin. The few words are spoken in the Yucatec Mayan language. Again, as he did in The Passion of the Christ, he cast aside the given that audiences will not pay to read subtitles but they did – generating millions. A number of us shout, “Hooray!” to that. Think of all the new avenues to foreign films opened up by his goofiness.

Please, please, keep in mind, I’m not trying to condone Gibson’s abhorrent underside I simply do not want his or anyone’s work burned at the stake in any political rally of righteousness. One might consider Gibson’s concept of universality that includes other people of color. The much neglected and maligned and totally dismissed – the Indian nation’s running the width and length of our North and South Continents. He gives us an idea of their immense cultural attributes and importantly, the atavistic, primal ugliness inherent in all of us, right up to this day.

As written by Gibson and his long-time associate Farhad Safinia, the architectural structure is as sound as the subject’s pyramids. The natives technical and mathematical skills reflect a great civilization slip-sliding downward to cruelty, out of desperation. The scenario pulls no punches, it is cruel. The plot follows the terrible adventures of Jaguar Paw, fabulously performed by Rudy Youngblood, a 25-year old Commanche and Cree Indian from Texas. As Jaguar Paw, he runs (literally) a horrific series of trials and tribulations, a bruising journey unable to imagine – you have to be there. His village has been attacked by a hostile tribe, who killed women and children as well. He hid his young, pregnant wife and son in a cave. His mission is to save his family and avenge family and friends who perished in the raid. To this end, he must endure an agonizing gauntlet of terror. The film’s pace is that of a bullet. However, in that time you get an indelible picture of life in a village, a thundering insight into the rugged jungle, the raging rivers, looming mountains and rampaging rain. Harder to take is the capital city and the demoralizing arrogance of demented-by-decadence, ill-used power. They could throw someone off a cliff as readily as we can mount a full-scale war against a camel-powered country. Apocalypto, is not for the sensitive souls who cannot believe the atrocities pictured are still commonplace.

I am slow in stating that this controversial film is most likely, not great. But, like it or not, it is a bold step forward.

Guy-Jean de Fraumeni is the producer/writer/director of award-winning European and American feature films. He has been a judge at Major Film and TV award competitions, including the Oscars, the Emmy’s and various film festivals. Sarah Halsey assists him.

Guy de Fraumeni’s Hollywood In The Hamptons

Apocalypto