Admittedly, I've never been a big Mel fan - most of the movies that made him a star were really not my cup of tea (I hated Lethal Weapon and Mad Max just bored me) but I respect him as an actor and a director. I had dealings with Mel and his family through a prior job, for several years, and found him to be a lovely person. He was endearing and refreshingly unassuming - he reminded me of Fozzy Bear (from the Muppets)...seriously. He just likes to make people laugh so much, it's quite charming. And when I saw Braveheart, I was blown away. That still ranks among my favorite films of all time and it's a remarkable piece of storytelling, I think. I even had to give him credit for a solid performance as Hamlet, and I'm something of a Shakespeare purist.

But last night, as an adjunct to my recent studies about Mayan culture, I watched Apocalypto and was really, thoroughly disappointed. It has all the elements there that you need; wonderful casting, a decent script, gorgeous locations, Dean Semler's brilliant cinematography and Howard Shore's incredible music. With Mel behind the camera, I expected something passionate and moving. This was more like an action film in the jungle, devoid of any genuine emotions whatsoever. Yes, the sets were stunning, the attention to detail and authenticity were painstaking and lovely...but I felt nothing, even during some particularly brutal scenes. What a shame. Yes, the Mayans had aspects of their culture that were savage (to us) but they were also an amazing culture in terms of their connection to the earth and their understanding of time and the Universe. None of that was present. Given the title, I thought the film might deal with those aspects, the things Mayans predicted and what happened when the Spanish Conquistadors landed. Nope. Just lots of mean, nasty Mayans enslaving others.

Hoping to get some clarity or perspective, I watched the behind the scenes featurette....much like the film, it was overly concerned with details and oddly uninteresting. I always find the featurettes to be interesting...not this one. And Mel seemed...disconnected? And he looks so much older than he is. They colored his pure white hair (yep, pure white when not working) dark brown but he just looks worn, tired and not very happy. Honestly, it makes me feel sad for him. In this town, he's THE punching bag du jour, and from my observations everyone he is close to or trusts outside of his family is Jewish so I don't think he's an anti-Semite. I think he's just lost and full of self loathing.

Out of curiosity, I'm watching Passion of the Christ next. I saw lots of still photographs taken by my former employer on set and it looked utterly vulgar in terms of gore, which seems like missing the heart and point of the story, but after this I just have to know for myself. Braveheart was a tough act to follow as a director, but he had a sense of personal passion and sentiment about him then that seems to have vanished. How sad to see an artist lose whatever that muse was for him. It would appear that alcohol and the inner demons that crave it have sucked away years of his life. I believe strongly that there is always a way back, a way to reconnect to that endless source of spirit and life. I'll hold some intentions for him to find his way. The world needs its storytellers, desperately, and he has shown himself in the past to be rather extraordinary at that when his heart is in it.

I'm hoping for an emotional experience with Passion, and I'm hoping that whatever he does next, it comes from his heart, not his head.