Mel Gibson's new film, APOCALYPTO 10/23/2009
APOCALYPTO NARRATIVE
by H. Peter Metzger
In 1502, a war party from a large and corrupt Mayan city searches for captives to be used as human sacrifices to appease their bloodthirsty god, Kukulkan. They make a raid on a small village nearby, round up captives, and a great fight ensues. The villagers are easily subdued by the marauders and are quickly bound together for their trek back to the city.
During the raid, the main character, villager Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is attacked by the warrior, the sadistic Middle Eye (played very believably by Gerardo Taracena), thus creating a personal feud between the two. The fight is stopped by the war party commander, Zero Wolf (a very scary character wonderfully well played by Raoul Trujillo), but it is clear that the feud is not going to end there.
The war party and it’s bound captives arrive in the city and are brought to the very top of a great pyramid to be sacrificed. In one of the best scenes in the narrative, the high priest (played by Fernando Hernandez, and obviously drawing his inspiration from Benito Mussolini), speaks to the crowds below (700 extras!), and tells of how their future will improve only if the great god Kukulkan gets his fill of human blood. So the sacrifices proceed as he cuts the still beating hearts out of the sacrificial victims to the roars of approval from the crowd below.
When it is Jaguar Paw’s turn to die, a solar eclipse interrupts. As the day turns into night, the high priest looks to the chief (Rafael Velez) for guidance. After exchanging sly smiles, the order comes to stop the sacrifices as the god’s thirst for blood is sated. Jaguar Paw is saved.
The captives are then led off to be “disposed of”. During this bloody scene, Jaguar Paw escapes, killing Cut Rock, the son of Zero Wolf in the process. A furious and revenge-driven Zero Wolf begins a long chase to avenge his son’s death by saying “I am going to peel off his skin and make him watch me wear it.”
Joining Zero Wolf in his pursuit of Jaguar Paw is his war party of eight, and they track Jaguar Paw through the jungle. It isn’t long before Jaguar Paw meets up with a real Jaguar who pursues him too. One member of the war party chasing Jaguar Paw almost catches up with his quarry but ends up just in front of the enraged Jaguar instead. Instantly, the Jaguar switches his target from Jaguar Paw to chasing the warrior, who is quickly chewed to death as Jaguar Paw makes his escape. This leaves one warrior down while the other eight continue their chase.
Next, warrior Hanging Moss is killed by a snake thus raising the toll to two warriors dead. The chase goes on until it is stopped by a giant waterfall into which Jaguar Paw leaps, arriving at the bottom safely. As the war party looks down at him, commander Zero Wolf kills a third warrior for second guessing him, having suggested that they go around the falls. Zero Wolf then commands that they all jump over the waterfall which kills one of them, raising the score to four warriors dead.
After almost drowning in black quicksand, Jaguar Paw buys time by throwing an active beehive at his pursuers. He uses the extra time to make poison darts from some big thorns and a poison toad he gathered. Then, with a blow pipe made by folding a big leaf into a tube, he kills warrior number five.
Then, to settle the old score, Jaguar Paw encounters the sadistic Middle Eye and they get into a very exciting axe battle, leaving Middle Eye dead with blood spurting from a fatal wound to his head, making six down with three to go.
By now, the running battle has moved close to Jaguar Paw’s village where he is able to check on his wife and child who have taken refuge in a deep hole. He can’t stay but a moment since what’s left of the war party is getting very close. In fact, Zero Wolf manages to get off an arrow which skewers Jaguar Paw but does not kill him.
Thus emboldened, commander Zero Wolf rushes in to finish off his victim. But being on his home ground, Jaguar Paw has cleverly led Zero Wolf into the business end of a Tapir trap which impales him thoroughly with several sharpened sticks, making him the seventh kill.
Only two warriors remain. Jaguar Paw can’t go on any longer and slowly settles to the ground defenseless, by the shore of the sea. As his last two pursuers come up from behind, the three men look up to see a paralyzing sight. It’s a Spanish fleet! And a few longboats filled with Europeans, (led by Columbus) are about to make landfall right in front of them.
The remaining two warriors, filled with wonder and amazement, immediately abandon their chase and go towards the men in the ships leaving Jaguar Paw free to escape. He makes his way back to his wife, his child, and a newly born infant son.
In the last scene, all four move back deep into the forest to make a new beginning.
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APOCALYPTO NARRATIVE
by H. Peter Metzger
In 1502, a war party from a large and corrupt Mayan city searches for captives to be used as human sacrifices to appease their bloodthirsty god, Kukulkan. They make a raid on a small village nearby, round up captives, and a great fight ensues. The villagers are easily subdued by the marauders and are quickly bound together for their trek back to the city.
During the raid, the main character, villager Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is attacked by the warrior, the sadistic Middle Eye (played very believably by Gerardo Taracena), thus creating a personal feud between the two. The fight is stopped by the war party commander, Zero Wolf (a very scary character wonderfully well played by Raoul Trujillo), but it is clear that the feud is not going to end there.
The war party and it’s bound captives arrive in the city and are brought to the very top of a great pyramid to be sacrificed. In one of the best scenes in the narrative, the high priest (played by Fernando Hernandez, and obviously drawing his inspiration from Benito Mussolini), speaks to the crowds below (700 extras!), and tells of how their future will improve only if the great god Kukulkan gets his fill of human blood. So the sacrifices proceed as he cuts the still beating hearts out of the sacrificial victims to the roars of approval from the crowd below.
When it is Jaguar Paw’s turn to die, a solar eclipse interrupts. As the day turns into night, the high priest looks to the chief (Rafael Velez) for guidance. After exchanging sly smiles, the order comes to stop the sacrifices as the god’s thirst for blood is sated. Jaguar Paw is saved.
The captives are then led off to be “disposed of”. During this bloody scene, Jaguar Paw escapes, killing Cut Rock, the son of Zero Wolf in the process. A furious and revenge-driven Zero Wolf begins a long chase to avenge his son’s death by saying “I am going to peel off his skin and make him watch me wear it.”
Joining Zero Wolf in his pursuit of Jaguar Paw is his war party of eight, and they track Jaguar Paw through the jungle. It isn’t long before Jaguar Paw meets up with a real Jaguar who pursues him too. One member of the war party chasing Jaguar Paw almost catches up with his quarry but ends up just in front of the enraged Jaguar instead. Instantly, the Jaguar switches his target from Jaguar Paw to chasing the warrior, who is quickly chewed to death as Jaguar Paw makes his escape. This leaves one warrior down while the other eight continue their chase.
Next, warrior Hanging Moss is killed by a snake thus raising the toll to two warriors dead. The chase goes on until it is stopped by a giant waterfall into which Jaguar Paw leaps, arriving at the bottom safely. As the war party looks down at him, commander Zero Wolf kills a third warrior for second guessing him, having suggested that they go around the falls. Zero Wolf then commands that they all jump over the waterfall which kills one of them, raising the score to four warriors dead.
After almost drowning in black quicksand, Jaguar Paw buys time by throwing an active beehive at his pursuers. He uses the extra time to make poison darts from some big thorns and a poison toad he gathered. Then, with a blow pipe made by folding a big leaf into a tube, he kills warrior number five.
Then, to settle the old score, Jaguar Paw encounters the sadistic Middle Eye and they get into a very exciting axe battle, leaving Middle Eye dead with blood spurting from a fatal wound to his head, making six down with three to go.
By now, the running battle has moved close to Jaguar Paw’s village where he is able to check on his wife and child who have taken refuge in a deep hole. He can’t stay but a moment since what’s left of the war party is getting very close. In fact, Zero Wolf manages to get off an arrow which skewers Jaguar Paw but does not kill him.
Thus emboldened, commander Zero Wolf rushes in to finish off his victim. But being on his home ground, Jaguar Paw has cleverly led Zero Wolf into the business end of a Tapir trap which impales him thoroughly with several sharpened sticks, making him the seventh kill.
Only two warriors remain. Jaguar Paw can’t go on any longer and slowly settles to the ground defenseless, by the shore of the sea. As his last two pursuers come up from behind, the three men look up to see a paralyzing sight. It’s a Spanish fleet! And a few longboats filled with Europeans, (led by Columbus) are about to make landfall right in front of them.
The remaining two warriors, filled with wonder and amazement, immediately abandon their chase and go towards the men in the ships leaving Jaguar Paw free to escape. He makes his way back to his wife, his child, and a newly born infant son.
In the last scene, all four move back deep into the forest to make a new beginning.
======end======
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