OH...and the title of the article is a little misleading...sorry but it is the actual title of the Father's story/review.
I watched Braveheart again last night. It's still a great movie as was The Patriot.
The title had me worried...
Did he repeat his line that the "Jews are to blame"?
I look forward to seeing Apacalypto, with the dramatic weather changes on the planet and the Mayan Prediction of 2012, as well as the scientific views on the Sunspot theory of 2012 I think this will be a magnetic film!
Film star and director Mel Gibson has launched a scathing attack on US President George W Bush, comparing his leadership to the barbaric rulers of the Mayan civilisation in his new film Apocalypto.
The epic, due for release later this year, captures the decline of the Maya kingdom and the slaughter of thousands of inhabitants as human sacrifices in a bid to save the nation from collapsing.
Gibson reveals he used present day American politics as an inspiration, claiming the government callously plays on the nation's insecurities to maintain power.
He tells British film magazine Hotdog, "The fear-mongering we depict in the film reminds me of President Bush and his guys".
Interesting that this positive review is from a member of the Roman Catholic clergy.
I remember the English complaining about "Braveheart." Then there were the ludicrously unsupported claims of "The Passion of the Christ" being anti-Jew.
How could this movie not portray the Spanish invaders darkly?
I hope, and almost trust, that Gibson of all directors wouldn't use the historical events of his story for the typical, cheap-shot slander of Christianity, that would come from most in the entertainment media.
hmmmm.... isn't mel short for melvin ?
I won't be seeing a movie by this slug when he claims America is on the verge of collapse, that the war in Iraq constitutes "human sacrifice" by the president and when he continually attacks those things that I support, not to mention the fact he showed himself to be a drunken bigot. Good riddance Mel! You're dead to me.
Bump!
I hope it's a great success!
Coming soon if conservatives sit out elections over the next few years.
I thought that was a Paris Hilton line?
The following was sardonically funny (and sad, given the number of hits beyond what serious defense posts get). Joan Rivers is a voting, contributing Republican. ...ironic, no?
Rivers: 'Gibson should die'
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1719567/posts
Its probably a good movie, and I probably won't see it.
Interesting.
I love movies and I hope it's great, but this priest worked for Mel and is openly a devotee of Gibson.
Mel has done it again! His film matters. That's my critique of Apocalypto.
Don't get me wrong. This is no sequel to The Passion of the Christ.
Some of his fervent fans will be disappointed if they were hoping for another religious epic. Mel just didn't have it in him. He doesn't see himself as a prophet, a spiritual director, or a religious role model.
But he knows how to make movies, and he has been making good and responsible ones for a very long time.
That's what Mel has done again. He's made a heart-stopping, mythic action-adventure that tells an ancient story in a way that matters.
During the process of releasing the Passion, Mel realized a tremendous hunger in the audience for a different kind of film. Talking about his reasoning for making Apocalypto he said, "People want big stories that say something to them emotionally and touch them spiritually."
Of all of his past films, this one most resembles Braveheart.
The only difference is that it takes place in an ancient Mayan jungle, is spoken in the ancient Mayan language, and is represented by a bunch of unknown actors who, for the most part, had never acted before.
Oh yeah, and the story is not about Scotland's fight for independence from the Brits, but rather the fight for personal and spiritual independence of a hero who risks his life to free himself from an opulent, but now decaying pre-European Mayan culture.
The protagonist is Juguar Paw (played by newcomer Rudy Youngblood). He is innocent. He is strong. He is in love with his wife, his family, and his traditional culture.
In the darkness of an ordinary night, invaders abruptly interrupt his idyllic existence. What ensues is a riveting and relentless chase film that provides a unique context for telling a story about personal and societal survival.
The analogy to our present culture is discreet, but powerful. A society that allows itself to fall apart from within will be unable to withstand threats from without.
Warning: count on a few typical Gibsonian scenes that my sensitivities could have done without (one in particular was unnecessarily vulgar).
I suggest you watch it alone before you take your kids.
I took notes as I sat alone in the theatre, as I talked with the producers, and as I've studied the Mayan culture since then. If you like, I'll continue to share some of these notes with you and answer your questions, right here on this blog.
God bless, Father Jonathan
Mel Gibson has said and done some strange things over the past year. But I'm still suspending judgment on the movie.
I've seen the previews at the website, and now I've read this review. It looks like a great film. Maybe it won't be. But frankly, however politically correct and Hollywoodishly Mel talked about it in recent interviews, I'd rather let the movie speak for itself.
I'll be very surprised if it's politically correct. Yes, it will be about the downfall of an empire built on cruelty. That's not America, at least not yet. Only a leftist idiot would think so. If there's any parallel between the blood sacrifices of the Aztec Empire and America, it's the abortion holocaust. But it would have caused too much of a firestorm for Mel to say so. I think he's trailing a false scent across liberal noses with those interviews.
If I'm wrong, I'll admit it. Mel may be antisemitic, drunk, and crazy, but he makes great movies, and I doubt whether he will suddenly reverse himself on that. We'll see.
I can't wait to see Apocalpyto. Looks like a great one.