Apocalypto, directed by Mel Gibson, is an epic story about the Mayan people. After establishing several Mayans as delightfully innocent savages, the film shows how they are captured by the brutally savage Aztecs. When the film ends, in 1519, Spanish ships have docked on the coast, and the Mayan survivors of the Aztec imperialists decide to retreat to the jungle in order to return to their roots. During most of the movie, which is filmed in Mexico, the muscular indigenous people wear only loincloths, and dialog is very limited. Some will doubtless interpret the tale as Mel Gibson’s subliminal justification for Spain’s colonization of the Americas in order to convert the heathen into Christians, with some reverence for the surviving Mayans as native peoples who deserve respect. MH
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