Synopsis

Jaguar Paw and his fellow villagers lead a peaceful life in the forest of South America. Life is based around hunting, family and living in harmony with the Gods of nature. Until a savage, unprovoked attack turns their world upside down. Hiding his pregnant wife and young son from the invaders, Jaguar Paw joins in the fight for survival. Overwhelmed by these fierce warriors many of the villagers are killed. Those who do survive are taken prisoner. The unwanted children are abandoned by their captors and left to their own device. The prisoners now begin a long forced march filled with dread and uncertain as to what the future holds. Taken from their home they arrive at a thriving metropolis that might as well be a foreign country. What they are confronted with shocks them. While the villagers respect both life and nature, the rulers of the great stone city condone violence in an effort to appease their gods. Here the women will be sold into slavery and the hapless men will be sacrificed to the Sun God. Jaguar Paw is determined that his life won't be wasted in a useless sacrifice. He has to escape. He must return to his wife, child and the forrest.

What The Critics Say

"More than anything else, this journey is what "Apocalypto" is about. "Apocalypto" is not only a beautiful-looking film, it is an exciting journey through a world that disappeared hundreds of years ago. A tremendous experience. 4 1/2 STARS." Morgan Derera YOUR MOVIES "Gibson -- and people are likely to be saying whatever forever -- he is one hell of a filmmaker." Terry Lawson DETROIT FREE PRESS "Offers non-stop excitement and we MEAN non-stop, an electrifying epic in every sense of the word." Pete Hammond MAXIM "Apocalypto matches the intensity and visceral excitement of both Braveheart and The Passion, and provides daring filmgoers a bona fide original film experience." Jack Garner ROCHESTER DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE "Gibson is an extremely capable director - and as a primitive, adrenalin-pumping action adventure, Apocalypto is near flawless. Dean Semler's cinematography is gobsmacking. And the film's environmental message, too, is horribly potent." Vicky Roach DAILY TELEGRAPH

"Mel Gibson is always good for a surprise, and his latest is that Apocalypto is a remarkable film. Without a doubt, "Apocalypto" is the best-looking big-budget film yet shot digitally; one can't tell it wasn't shot on film." Todd McCarthy VARIETY "Simplistic? Absolutely. Apocalypto may have sub-titles and lack stars but in every other way it's a Hollywood action movie." Sandra Hall SYDNEY MORNING HERALD "Think and say what you will about the beliefs and actions of Mel Gibson. One conclusion, however, is undeniable: He's a powerfully effective filmmaker." Marjorie Baumgarten AUSTIN CHRONICLE "Filming in the state of Veracruz and on the Yucatan Peninsula, Gibson and his production team transport viewers six centuries back in time to create an amazing 'you are there' effect." Laura Emerick CHICAGO SUN-TIMES "The combination of story, action, excellent costume and makeup and solid performances by the hitherto unknown cast makes for a film that will have broad appeal." Robin Clifford REELING REVIEWS

The Inside Story The genesis of "Apocalypto" started immediately after "The Passion of the Christ". Gibson says he sensed that film audiences were hungering for movies that would be, not only thrilling and entertaining, but also something more. "I think people really want to see big stories that say something to them emotionally and touch them spiritually," Gibson said. It was his fascination with the precipitous collapse of the ancient Mayan civilization, that would provide him with the inspiration to make another huge film, "Apocalypto". Gibson wanted to create an incomparable chase film in which a man must put everything on the line. "I wanted to make a high-velocity action adventure chase film that keeps on turning the screws," recalls Gibson. "I was intrigued by the idea that most of the story would be told visually, hitting the audience on the most visceral and emotional of levels." Gibson shared his idea with Cambridge University graduate Farhad Safinia who had traveled in the Yucatan and seen Mayan ruins firsthand. "The idea was like this fantastic engine," Safinia says. "The story was always driving, driving towards something, and it was thrilling even as we were writing it. There are a lot of revelations, plot twists and developments that happen at high speed." Gibson and Safini spent months reading Mayan myths of creation and destruction, including the sacred texts of prophesy known as the "Popul Vuh" before poring through the latest archeological texts about new digs and theories about the civilization’s collapse. Next Gibson and Safini travelled to view ancient Mayan sites for themselves. "I stood on top of the temple at El Mirador in Guatemala, in the only rainforest left in the country, and looking out I could see the outlines of 26 other cities," recalls Gibson, "all around us like a clock. You could see pyramids popping out of the jungle in the distance. It was quite something. You really got the sense of how powerful a civilization this once was." The two also met Dr Richard D Hansen, a world –renowned archeologist and expert on the Maya who agreed to serve as a consultant on the film. "Richard’s enthusiasm for what he does is infectious. He was able to reassure us and make us feel secure that what we were writing had some authenticity as well as imagination," says Gibson. Hansen confirmed what Gibson and Safinia had intuited: that there are provocative parallels between the end of Mayan society and the contemporary chaos of our own. "We really wanted to know, what were the reasons behind the Mayan cycles of rise and collapse?" notes Safinia. "We discovered that what archeologists and anthropologists believe is that the daunting problems faced by the Maya are extraordinarily similar to those faced today by our own civilization, especially when it comes to widespread environmental degradation, excessive consumption and political corruption." "Throughout history, precursors to the fall of a civilization have always been the same, and one of the things that just kept coming up as we were writing is that many of the things that happened right before the fall of the Mayan civilization are occurring in our society now. It was important for me to make that parallel because you see these cycles repeating themselves over and over again. People think that modern man is so enlightened but we’re susceptible to the same forces," notes Gibson, "and we are also capable of the same heroism and transcendence." The central character in "Apocalypto" is Jaguar Paw, a young father, promising, instinctively aware but not quite yet a leader in his small, idyllic village of traditional hunters. Then, in one breathless moment, his entire world is ripped apart when he is captured and taken on a perilous march through the forest to the great Mayan city. "Jaguar Paw’s story is one that anyone will relate to," notes Gibson. "In the course of his journey, he has to put his own self aside and fight for something much larger." While there are villians in the film, Gibson says the key villain in the film is really not a person. It’s a concept, and that concept is fear. The hero has to overcome his fear, and being overtaken with fear is something we all have struggled with in history as well as in today’s world, so it’s something everyone relates to." With the script finished, the next task was to translate it into the dialect of the day, the Yucatec language, the primary Mayan dialect spoken in the Yucatan peninsula today. "I think hearing a different language allows the audience to completely suspend their own reality and get drawn into the world of the film," says Gibson. "And more importantly, this also puts the emphasis on the cinematic visuals, which are a kind of universal language of the heart." As in "The Passion Of The Christ", the filmmakers have provided subtitles so that the audience has an onscreen interpretation of conversations. When it came to casting Gibson was determined, right from the start, to use only faces that were authentically indigenous to tell this indigenous story. That meant casting an unusually wide net and going on extensive searches throughout Mexico, especially in the Yucatan, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Xalapa, Veracruz and Catemaco. The quest continued in Southern California and New Mexico; in Edmonton, Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver; as well as Central America. Ultimately, three cast members hailed from Canada, two from the United States, and the remainder came from México and other parts of Central America, including over 700 extras who create the sense of a teeming metropolis of many classes and backgrounds in the Maya City sequences. Some of the younger cast who came from isolated Indian communities had never even seen a hotel room before the production. Carla Hool, a Mexico City based casting agent was hired to help with the auditions, which involved an unusual process. "The actors had to be really physically fit with bodies like athletes or dancers and have great stamina," she explained. "In fact, part of our casting process was seeing how the actors could move and run. We also had them read Mayan poetry. We were not necessarily looking for people with a background in acting although we do have a number of fine actors in the cast. But they didn’t have to act per se. It was more about their look, their movements and what they had within them." When it came to the lead character of Jaguar Paw, it was Gibson who discovered (after extensive auditions), Rudy Youngblood, a Native American of the Comanche, Cree and Yaqui people. Youngblood is not only a pow-wow dancer, singer and artist, he also is an accomplished athlete, cross-country racer and boxer. "Jaguar Paw is a lot like me," Youngblood says. "We’re from different eras but very much the same person. He is strong. He's a giver, not a taker. He loves his family. He’s respectful and he learns in the course of the story not to be afraid. This is also what I have been taught in my culture." Youngblood’s physical fitness and athleticism meant he was able to do most of his own stunt work. That impressed Mic Rodgers, the stunt coordinator on "Apocalypto" who said, "Rudy is probably the purest athlete I've ever seen. He has his head together and is totally on top of his game. If he wasn’t an actor, he could be a stuntman." Safinia notes, "Rudy has an innocence but also an incredible strength. Adds Gibson: "I’m so proud of what he was able to achieve." "The physicality of this film was gut-wrenching and some of the scenes; jumping off the waterfall and being chased by the jaguar, were literally heart-pounding for me," says Youngblood. "There was constant adrenaline, constant action, and lots of pain and fear, but Jaguar Paw is able to transcend all of that. It’s part of who he is." Jaguar Paw's arch-enemy in "Apocalypto" is Zero Wolf, a fierce Holcane warrior who captures and then must hunt down Jaguar Paw. Raoul Trujillo, a native of New Mexico and an established actor in film and television as well as a dancer and choreographer was cast for the role. In real life his appearabce is nothing like that of Zero Wolf. "He’s actually a very handsome guy so we had to ugly him up some!", Gibson recalled. "We marred his natural features and gave him a more mythic proboscis. He became very scary looking." Trujillo remembers the two mens first meeting. "Mel said to me 'You are Zero Wolf' and at that time, I really didn’t know who Zero Wolf was. But when I put on the costume and make-up, I truly did become Zero Wolf." And Gibson's reaction? He said, "You don’t have to be scary. You are scary." And spare a thought for Rodolfo Palacios who plays the role of Holcane Warrior Snake Ink. He had to endured seven hours a day in the make-up chair to sport the complex web of facial and torso tattoos that make 'Snake Ink' so uniquely frightening. Palacios remembers he was always impressed by how generous Gibson was with his diverse and largely inexperienced cast. "He was always talking with us about our opinions on the script, our characters, the whole process. It was very special." There's no doubt audiences will feel that "Apocalypto" is very special too. It's a remarkable story, an exceptional film and a tribute to everyone, not just Gibson, who worked hard to bring this enthralling tale to the big screen. "What’s amazing is that Mel has basically created this epic movie with non-professional actors most of whom have never been in front of a camera," says executive producer Ned Dowd. "He was patient, caring and detailed to the point that many times, he was acting out the scenes for and with the actors. It was remarkable to see how committed he was to this cast, tirelessly devoting his time and energy not only to the main actors but also to the extras, to help them understand and find that special something within them that defines their character." "Apocalypto" was shot on location in Catemaco, in one of the last remaining tracts of rainforests left in Mexico, and in Veracruz, with a cast made up entirely of indigenous peoples from the Americas. The Verdict "A tour de force for not only Mel Gibson, but also cinematographer Dean Semler, composer James Horner, costumer Mayes C Rubeo, production designer Tom Sanders, co-writer Farhad Safinia and the huge cast of virtual unknows who have tackled this production with great passion, vision and creativity. I am sure that the public will put aside Mel's private life and the recent ramblings of an old drunk and go see "Apocalypto" because this truly is an 'epic' of epic proportions. To get the full impact see it on the biggest screen possible. Anything smaller will diminish the impact of Semlers stunning camera work. Not the sort of film you should take the kids to though due to sacrificial scenes which may cause distress. Highly Recommended. 4 1/2 STARS." Cast & Crew Bytes "APOCALYPTO" stars .......
Rudy Youngblood ["Apocalypto"]; Dalia Hernandez ["Apocalypto"]; Jonathan Brewer ["Apocalypto"]; Morris Birdyellowhead ["Apocalypto"]; Carlos Emilio Baez ["Apocalypto"], Fernando Hernandez ["The Fountain"]; Mayra Serbulo ["Wild Blue Moon", "Shadow of the Pepper Tree", "The Mexican" and "Y tu mamá también"]; with María Isabel Díaz ["Inspiration", "Melodrama", "Nights in Constantinople" and "Volver"] as Mother In Law and Raoul Trujillo ["Shadow of the Wolf", "Song of Hiawatha", "The Adventures of Young Brave" and "The New World"] as Zero Wolf.
"APOCALYPTO" was .......
directed by Academy Award winner Mel Gibson ["The Man Without a Face", "Braveheart" and "The Passion of the Christ"]; screenplay by Farhad Safinia ["Apocalypto"] and Mel Gibson ["The Passion of the Christ"]; cinematography by Academy Award winner Dean Semler ["Mad Max 2 & 3", "City Slickers", "The Bone Collector", "We Were Soldiers", "The Longest Yard" and "Click"]; original music by Academy Award winner James Horner ["Titanic", "A Beautiful Mind", "Iris", "The Missing" and "The Legend of Zorro"]; art direction by Roberto Bonelli ["Frida", "Ultraviolet" and "Kilometro 31"]; production design by Tom Sanders ["Maverick", "Braveheart", "Saving Private Ryan", "Mission: Impossible II" and "We Were Soldiers"], and costume design by Mayes C Rubeo ["Inferno" and "Sunshine State"]. Run Time 138 minutes Rated MA15+ [AUST] Copyright ©2007 - Touchstone Pictures - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2007 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved