War Stories

Gibson’s eye for sweeping landscapes and rainforests of Catemaco is strong, allowing the rich blue and yellow skies to mix with the palate of adobe and greenery. Like its material, Apocalypto has a continuously dark theme - much of the action springs through wooded areas, and climaxes through a solar eclipse. James Horner’s haunting instrumental score pervades all dramatic sequences, and the choice of percussion gives a rattling sensation for the chase sequence. On the topic, the film opens with the quote by Will Durant pondering “a civilization that cannot destroy itself without until it destroys itself within.” Gibson bridges this concept with what appears to be a creative analogy to the current Iraq War, and furthermore, war in general. From the introduction of a threat to the Mayans, leading to the sacrifice of strong Mayans for appeasement, and then to the fight for survival by those who stand against this anxiety, Gibson intelligently - and backhandedly - summarizes a philosophical discussion into a chase scene that will dazzle any action aficionado.