Saw this film the other night.
Though it wasn't quite what I had in mind. it was still good. In someparts, particuly the beginning, this movie took on the look of a documentry. Like National Geographic on television.
It does starts off slow, as most movies should.
Showing a hunting party, and stuff about their social interactions, pecking order. In alot of ways not being different from people in modern society.
As it has been brought to surface on another internet forum that Mel Gibson ( The Director) portrayed these people as sexist or just too stereotyped or as they are . Even if this is true. Naturally the men as stronger and more aggressive then the women.
The men do the hunting and the women stay in the village. The older women look after the children while the younger women gather fruit, vegetables, edible insects. The village eldar, tells a story around the fire-pit. The hunting eldar, surveying the handiwork of the younger hunters. Watching the alpha male award each of the others various organs from the wild pig that had just sprung ther'ye trap. Some of the antics among the hunting party could be analysed and parralells could be drawn the antics within one of those American college houses.
More to the point I was making before and after some personal introspection. I had come to the conclusion that this primitive group wouldn't have it any other way. Being how they were and where they were. If the men and women stray from their duties and try to think above and beyond their station then things may spell disaster for all.
I suddenly then come to the conclusion that another purpose for why we all go to school at all. As it is so we can figure out what we are going to be later on in life. How we fit into society by how we fit in at school and most relevantly to this film, if we can educate ourselves beyond the level achieved by our parents.
Those Jungle Mayans, probably wouldn't have know any better or be taught any better and would be assigned these roles from a very early age perhaps only making a minor advance or discovery every few generations. Most offencive to those liberated females now would be that the females were encouraged to hide with the children while the men defend/fight against unfriendly or unwelcome outsiders.
Though I have to admit the're might have been a few exceptions recorded in history were women would have more a equal role in society without the help of being in a modern society, free from hunger, and war and/or haveing a full secondary, tertiary education. This certainly wasn't one of those exceptions.
Despite all this, certain events next happening a third of the way into the movie had resulted in the near demise of there small village. I won't give the next part away, but if I wanted to be mean to Mel Gibson then I might say the the
last quarter of this movie is just abit of a rip-off of the Swartzeneggar 'Predator' movie. ( No, there was no alien creature hunting them.) All the same the pace had well and truly picked up from the start of the last third of the movie.
WARNING, SPOILERS I AM RECOUNTING SOME SCENES OF THE FILM HERE. DO NOT READ IF YOU DON"T WANT TO SPOIL MOVIE FOR YOURSELF.
Somethings I'm little curious about. The painting of blue dye on their bodies. Is this a nod to Mel's other film "BraveHeart" I would almost disagree....
There's a scene where the group of males from the village tribe are being lead up the steps
Mayan pyramid to a sacrifical alter. These other people living in the Mayan city are alittle bit more modern than their village counterparts but are still very primative but also that much more decadent. As watching the hero archetype, the protagonist of this film Jaguar Paw ( Is tribal sounding name.) standing in line waiting to have his heart ripped still beating from his chest. Why didn't he or somebody standing before him do something other than being led to their own slaughter I Could only imagine his thinking 'well I'm about to die anyway, I might as well not go quietly like the first couple of guys before me. I may even try to push one of those guard guys over the edge of the precipiece.' Even though their hands were bound and tied together. The crowd of people standing down there cheering looking alittle intoxicated. These city living Mayan citizens look little softer than the village prisoners ( who were lean and agile.). Though the slavers, the personal guard are in very good phyiscal condition. ( Still lean, but abit more musculer.) Though I had only counted about ten of them.
I could feel a definite Luke Skywalker type of build up of tension here as our hero was being led to the altar. I could almost imagine him nodding to Artwo-Deetwo. Who may have been in that Mayan crowd somewhere down below. As the hero attempts a flying back flip while catching a imaginary light sabre thrown to him by a imaginary Art-two Unit. But this was only a after thought of mine and it never happened this way in the movie.
Well I won't give away any more of what happens in this film and I don't really, have much else to say here except, I can't imagine walking around in a rain-jungle wearing only loin cloth, no shoes and those weird unsightly tribal piercings.
Unless I was forced to.
Though it wasn't quite what I had in mind. it was still good. In someparts, particuly the beginning, this movie took on the look of a documentry. Like National Geographic on television.
It does starts off slow, as most movies should.
Showing a hunting party, and stuff about their social interactions, pecking order. In alot of ways not being different from people in modern society.
As it has been brought to surface on another internet forum that Mel Gibson ( The Director) portrayed these people as sexist or just too stereotyped or as they are . Even if this is true. Naturally the men as stronger and more aggressive then the women.
The men do the hunting and the women stay in the village. The older women look after the children while the younger women gather fruit, vegetables, edible insects. The village eldar, tells a story around the fire-pit. The hunting eldar, surveying the handiwork of the younger hunters. Watching the alpha male award each of the others various organs from the wild pig that had just sprung ther'ye trap. Some of the antics among the hunting party could be analysed and parralells could be drawn the antics within one of those American college houses.
More to the point I was making before and after some personal introspection. I had come to the conclusion that this primitive group wouldn't have it any other way. Being how they were and where they were. If the men and women stray from their duties and try to think above and beyond their station then things may spell disaster for all.
I suddenly then come to the conclusion that another purpose for why we all go to school at all. As it is so we can figure out what we are going to be later on in life. How we fit into society by how we fit in at school and most relevantly to this film, if we can educate ourselves beyond the level achieved by our parents.
Those Jungle Mayans, probably wouldn't have know any better or be taught any better and would be assigned these roles from a very early age perhaps only making a minor advance or discovery every few generations. Most offencive to those liberated females now would be that the females were encouraged to hide with the children while the men defend/fight against unfriendly or unwelcome outsiders.
Though I have to admit the're might have been a few exceptions recorded in history were women would have more a equal role in society without the help of being in a modern society, free from hunger, and war and/or haveing a full secondary, tertiary education. This certainly wasn't one of those exceptions.
Despite all this, certain events next happening a third of the way into the movie had resulted in the near demise of there small village. I won't give the next part away, but if I wanted to be mean to Mel Gibson then I might say the the
last quarter of this movie is just abit of a rip-off of the Swartzeneggar 'Predator' movie. ( No, there was no alien creature hunting them.) All the same the pace had well and truly picked up from the start of the last third of the movie.
WARNING, SPOILERS I AM RECOUNTING SOME SCENES OF THE FILM HERE. DO NOT READ IF YOU DON"T WANT TO SPOIL MOVIE FOR YOURSELF.
Somethings I'm little curious about. The painting of blue dye on their bodies. Is this a nod to Mel's other film "BraveHeart" I would almost disagree....
There's a scene where the group of males from the village tribe are being lead up the steps
Mayan pyramid to a sacrifical alter. These other people living in the Mayan city are alittle bit more modern than their village counterparts but are still very primative but also that much more decadent. As watching the hero archetype, the protagonist of this film Jaguar Paw ( Is tribal sounding name.) standing in line waiting to have his heart ripped still beating from his chest. Why didn't he or somebody standing before him do something other than being led to their own slaughter I Could only imagine his thinking 'well I'm about to die anyway, I might as well not go quietly like the first couple of guys before me. I may even try to push one of those guard guys over the edge of the precipiece.' Even though their hands were bound and tied together. The crowd of people standing down there cheering looking alittle intoxicated. These city living Mayan citizens look little softer than the village prisoners ( who were lean and agile.). Though the slavers, the personal guard are in very good phyiscal condition. ( Still lean, but abit more musculer.) Though I had only counted about ten of them.
I could feel a definite Luke Skywalker type of build up of tension here as our hero was being led to the altar. I could almost imagine him nodding to Artwo-Deetwo. Who may have been in that Mayan crowd somewhere down below. As the hero attempts a flying back flip while catching a imaginary light sabre thrown to him by a imaginary Art-two Unit. But this was only a after thought of mine and it never happened this way in the movie.
Well I won't give away any more of what happens in this film and I don't really, have much else to say here except, I can't imagine walking around in a rain-jungle wearing only loin cloth, no shoes and those weird unsightly tribal piercings.
Unless I was forced to.