Apocalypto

Run Jaguar Paw run! This is a very good film surrounded by way too much crap. The director's drunken rant, his fixation on graphic violence and his choice to present the movie in Mayan with subtitles. Get past all that and the result is an adventure/thriller which had me on the edge of my seat. I got sucked straight into the film. Ok there are two too many deus ex machina to move the plot along but Mel knows how to set a scene and how to create a universe within a film. Like Children of Men he fully realizes the world he set out to create. Even without using graphic violence, he is able to tap into a feeling of nightmare at some points in the film. All the actors are true and the film introduces a new screen villain worthy of Ralph Fiennes in Schindler's List. The chase sequence is absolutely amazing.
Favorite Moment: Jaguar Paw pausing to breathe during the chase.
Film #93