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Jaguar Paw (Rudy Youngblood) is the central character in a tale that narrates the struggles of a
jungle tribesman to get back to his family after he and other members of his tribe are taken captive. A raiding party from the big neighboring Mayan city ravages the quiet idyllic
life of Jaguar Paw's village, ruthlessly killing many of his people who resist, including his father Flint Sky (Morris Birdyellowhead).
Before being captured, Jaguar Paw manages to hide his pregnant wife, Seven (Dalia Hernandez) and his young son Turtles Run (Carlos Emilio Baez) in what appears to be a rough-hewn dried-up well, where they are left to fend for themselves with a very slim chance of getting out alive. Led by Zero Wolf (Raoul Trujillo), and his sadistic second-in-command, Snake Ink (Rodolfo Palacios), the raiding party brings their captives back to their city. There, the women captives are sold as slaves in a market auction. Jaguar Paw and the other men are sprayed with blue paint and herded up a pyramid temple to be killed as sacrificial offerings to the local sun god. The occurrence of an eclipse saves Jaguar Paw from imminent death and he flees but can he escape his pursuing tormentors?
Like in The Passion of the Christ, Mel Gibson does well in this film to give viewers
a powerful visual experience, employing native Central American-born actors speaking purely in the Mayan language, using authentic costumes, props and sets, and utilizing a lot of
dramatic close-ups as well as panoramic shots to engage the audience at every turn. The cinematography manages to capture the quick-paced exhilarating action in the jungle.
The lengthy chase scenes with the camera panning from pursuers to pursued quite often can prove quite dizzying. The plot is simple. One can easily identify the classic storyline. Jungle Paw's character is well-developed that viewers can really sympathize with his struggles and even cheer him on as he fights for redemption. The chance to further explore other realities of the long-lost Mayan culture is set aside. Still, Mel Gibson and company can draw credit from the fact beings being made target practice. As a period film, depicting exotic imagery and sound from a lost civilization, done with great technical artistry and riveting cinematography, this film has considerable impact on viewers but this film is not meant for young viewers. The opening quotation cited at the beginning of the film can be a source of thought-provoking discussions among mature adults about how, indeed, civilizations can survive instead of just thinking of progress in a very clannish, tribal way that tends to elicit more conflict and destruction.
(Date Reviewed: 2 February 2007)
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