Scene of the Week: Apocalypto
Whatever your thoughts on Mel Gibson might be, there’s no arguing that he’s an immensely talented director and seems to get fantastic performances out of actors who probably wouldn’t normally be starring in huge blockbuster films. For all of his successes as an actor, an argument could be made that his career as a director is far more impressive.
He’s, of course, had a number of hugely successful films including Mad Max, Lethal Weapon, We Were Soldiers, and Braveheart, but his list of movies that he’s directed have dealt with a very diverse array of periods, and that can’t be easy to do. Along with Apocalypto, Gibson also directed Braveheart, The Passion of the Christ, and the soon to be released Hacksaw Ridge. Gibson, more than most directors, understands that the human story, no matter which century it’s told in, can be entertaining and make for a very profitable film.
If you haven’t seen Apocalypto by now you’re most likely not going to be staying up late to catch it on HBO. It isn’t easy for any non-English language film to reach a massive audience but there seems to be even fewer people begging the big studios to make more movies about the Mayans. For me, the courage to film the movie in the almost-dead language and feature many actors of Mayan ancestry makes me respect those involved even more. With all of the good things I’ve said about the movie so far, I haven’t even mentioned how awesome the action scenes are! Check out one of my favorites below.
https://youtu.be/8qfsMjASwTM
