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Post by seahawksraawk00 on Nov 30, 2020 17:36:28 GMT
I got vague memories of all the hype around the film when it first came out, and, despite Mel's, well... antics, the praise it got too. But I'm pretty sure what turned me off about it was that it was basically a foreign film and not in english. So I never got into it until this week and quite frankly, holy shit!
One could ask for all the xenophobic and racist and anti-semitic accusations under his belt, why someone like Mel would film a really beautiful and visceral film like this about a completely different culture. Even from a story standpoint and the characters, they're well rounded and developed, even for it being in a different language, and hardly treated with derision.
I certainly didn't appreciate film that much when I was younger, definitely from a technical stand point and the process and how it was made and how the story was developed. But now, I definitely have a deep appreciation for films, particularly lower budget ones and practical effects, and ones that can be ambitious and pull it off without being pretentious. Like for example, I can actually appreciate the film's dialogue being completely in Yucatec Maya and what it means for the story as well. It's not a documentary, so I can definitely see a different director looking for a reason to use english. But you gotta give Mel credit and the rest of the cast for learning the language.
But the film is obviously filmed beautifully in the raw and visceral aesthetic that Mel usually brings. I can't speak for the historical accuracy of it, but I thought it was a great film and certainly recommend it!
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Post by Marv on Nov 30, 2020 17:40:56 GMT
I love it. Jaguar Paw is amazing. The whole second half foot chase is fantastic. Especially when Jaguar Paw gets born again from the mud and turns his forest on his pursuers. Definitely recommended viewing for anyone that isn’t completely turned off by subtitles. Even if you are, the majority of the film doesn’t even need dialog to understand the story.
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Post by politicidal on Nov 30, 2020 18:13:32 GMT
It's pretty awesome.
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Post by CoolJGS☺ on Nov 30, 2020 18:22:43 GMT
People are not one thing. You can be racist, xenophobic, and whatever and still be interested in a story if you;re an artist. Think of all the racists who like Jesus who was an ethnic Jew.
All you need is the portion of the worst aspects of humanity to be associated with it and it gets worse the more of a pattern is revealed. Gibson handled his mea culpa appropriately and he had a pretty good friend in Jodie Foster.
I am not a huge Gibson as director fan. This my favorite of his as I have not completed Braveheart yet. I tend to think he embraces violence more than story but pretends to integrate the two.
This is a gorgeous movie and it's quick, but I didn;t find it terribly engrossing beyond learning of the worst aspects of that culture
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Post by moviebuffbrad on Nov 30, 2020 21:24:43 GMT
A cynic might say he made it to show the Natives of the Americas as savage, ignorant, and borderline evil, and the arrival of the Spanish ships which indirectly save the lead at the end are a metaphor for the Europeans bringing civility to the land. So it'd be kinda in line with typical Mel. I know there's argument among historians about him taking Aztec human sacrifice and giving it to the Mayans.
Then again, Mel said the Mayans in the film are supposed to represent the Bush adminstration, which I could kinda see when I watched it, so who knows where that guy's head is at.
The commitment to ancient language is something I respected even in Passion of the Christ. Apocalypto is probably my favorite of his movies.
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Post by sdrew13163 on Dec 1, 2020 2:55:41 GMT
I’ve never understood the (limited) hatred of this movie. Most people seem to love it, but the few I’ve seen that hate it almost always mention how poorly directed it is.
When I watched it for the first time, it was one of maybe 10 or so movies that made me want to watch it over again right after. I think it’s acted, paced, and directed perfectly after the slow setup.
It still seems to be overlooked. It’s virtually impossible to find it on Blu-Ray now without paying a fortune.
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Post by vegalyra on Dec 1, 2020 19:08:47 GMT
I’ve never understood the (limited) hatred of this movie. Most people seem to love it, but the few I’ve seen that hate it almost always mention how poorly directed it is. When I watched it for the first time, it was one of maybe 10 or so movies that made me want to watch it over again right after. I think it’s acted, paced, and directed perfectly after the slow setup. It still seems to be overlooked. It’s virtually impossible to find it on Blu-Ray now without paying a fortune. It's been re-released if I read correctly. However, I think it's missing most of the original release's bonus features. Re-Release
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Post by sdrew13163 on Dec 1, 2020 19:34:04 GMT
I’ve never understood the (limited) hatred of this movie. Most people seem to love it, but the few I’ve seen that hate it almost always mention how poorly directed it is. When I watched it for the first time, it was one of maybe 10 or so movies that made me want to watch it over again right after. I think it’s acted, paced, and directed perfectly after the slow setup. It still seems to be overlooked. It’s virtually impossible to find it on Blu-Ray now without paying a fortune. It's been re-released if I read correctly. However, I think it's missing most of the original release's bonus features. Re-Release Sweet, thanks! I had no idea they did that just this past July. Crazy it took them so long to get more copies out there. |
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Post by sostie on Dec 2, 2020 10:37:57 GMT
No idea why he made it, but glad he did. Easily the best film he has directed.
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Post by Mulder and Scully on Dec 28, 2020 19:56:15 GMT
One of the greatest movies ever made, IMO. An absolute thrill ride from start to finish.
Probably a minority opinion but I consider Gibson to be one of the greatest directors of all time. He has a kind of old school directing at style, similar to guys like David Lean, Sergio Leone, George Stevens, Cecil B. Demille etc.
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Post by lenlenlen1 on Dec 28, 2020 20:50:47 GMT
I always feel as if I'm missing something in terms of the politics of the movie, but I too feel that its an amazing movie, all the more because its totally about a foreign culture and not told in English. An awesome effort on Gibsons part as director. Much better directed than Braveheart.
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