The actors of the film “Apocalypse” speak the Yucatan language for 139 minutes, and the main characters of the film are the Yucatan savages and Mayan Indians. This fact alone is intriguing: how could such a movie be shot in glamorous Hollywood? After all, it cannot be commercially successful. On such a bold step, actor Mel Gibson ventured. What came out of this experiment?
The creators of the picture
For the first time, the famous Hollywood actor Mel Gibson tried himself as a director in 1993, releasing the drama “Man Without a Face”. This film did not receive any response, but Gibson's second work, Braveheart, earned 10 nominations for an Oscar. The third directorial film was the scandalous drama "Passion of Christ" with the participation of James Kizhevela. By the way, during the shooting, the performer of the role of Christ received a lightning strike. In 2000 Gibson got the idea to make Apocalypse.
The script for the Apocalypse, along with Gibson, was written by a certain Farhad Safinia, who also helped Mel during the filming of his previous picture. In the center of the plot, Gibson and Safinia put representatives of
the Mayan tribe. They wanted to reflect their life with all its advantages and disadvantages as truthfully as possible. Naturally, during the filming, the director collaborated with many historical consultants, including
Maya culture expert Richard D. Hansen.
The actors of the film “Apocalypse” are entirely indigenous Yucatans or Indians. Some members of the crew did not even speak English: only the ancient language of their ancestors. Thus, in terms of historical and linguistic authenticity, it is difficult to find fault with the picture.
The film "Apocalypse": actors, photo. A brief plot of the picture
Initially, the Apocalypse was conceived as a pursuit film. However, Gibson wanted to pay less attention to special effects and “take” the viewer through the intense development of the plot.
The picture begins with the scene when the Mayan Indians come to the Yucatan settlement for slave people. Actors of the film "Apocalypse", playing the role of the ancient Yucatans, try to hide from human hunters, but only the main character, nicknamed Lapa Jaguar, can hide his family. He himself falls into the hands of the invaders.
All captured men, according to custom, were sacrificed. However, when the time came for the death of Lapa Jaguar, a solar eclipse suddenly began.
"Apocalypse" - film: actors and roles
As already mentioned, artists who were direct heirs of the culture of the ancient Yucatans and American Indians were invited to the project . In this regard, the actors of the film "Apocalypse" are not distinguished by famous names and recognizable faces.
The role of the protagonist, a hunter named Lap Jaguar, was played by Rudi Yangblad. Rudy is the most recognizable person from the entire cast. In addition to The Apocalypse, he starred in the films Amnesia, Resistance, and Into America.
Youngblood is a descendant of the Comanche Indians, Cree and Yaki. For the sake of filming, he had to spend a lot of time studying the Mayan language.
Also in the frame appeared actor Raul Trujillo, who has been starring in episodic roles since the 80s. Raul began his career with the series Hitchhiker. Then in his filmography appeared such projects as “Shadow of the Wolf”, “Swordsman” and “Highlander-3”. Trujillo’s latest television work is the role of Tupac Yupanka in the series Da Vinci Demons.
Criticism and some additional facts
The picture “Apocalypse” is non-standard, therefore Mel Gibson had to finance it independently “from” and “to”. But to organize a limited rental company helped Disney.
Before showing the film to other viewers, the actors of the film “Apocalypse” (2006), which relate to the indigenous population of America, helped organize a preliminary screening on Indian reservations. Mel Gibson heard a positive response from people whose ancestors are the main characters of the tape. After such success, the Disney production center organized similar screenings in 2,500 movie theaters.
Ordinary film critics also praised the work of Gibson and his team. Authoritative persons generally gave a rating of 4 out of 5 or 5 out of 5. But after the premiere of "Apocalypse", scientists who consider themselves connoisseurs of Mayan culture were dissatisfied. They complained that the director portrayed them too bloodthirsty.