Fell in love with this movie

Sadly I did not get to see this in the theaters, but in 2007 I picked it up on disc to give it a try because it interested me. I was treated to an engaging story and a visual feast that stuck with me to this day. I had to share it with my best friends and some of my family that I know enjoy movies, and they all have also enjoyed it.

No movie is without it's flaws, not even classically held masterpieces that 99% of the snobs love. But I think movies should be rated on how well it does what it set out to do. Yes, there are plenty of movies that set out to just entertain and be ridiculous and stupid and I enjoy plenty of them. But then there are films like this that get you invested in what is going on and take you to another place. For that, Mel has given some amazing visuals, such as the profile of Zero Wolf with his awesomely freakish headdress during the eclipse, as well as the frightening masks that some of guards and exocutioners wear in the city by the temple. When I first saw them, I had one of those rare moments in a movie where I was "wowed". So many of the visuals are things we have never seen before and they stick with you.

But all of this would not matter if the characters and story were not strong. They are, especially the protatgonist Jaguar Paw who goes through an intense and difficult transformation from being cocky yet afraid at the beginning of the movie, to confident and wise at the end of the movie. He knows to stay away from the new foreigners, and does not let his curiosity build fear in him at the end, as it had in the beginning. And considering most of the cast had never acted before, Mel does an amazing job of getting great performances out of the actors and making a completely foreign culture accessible to a modern and distantly removed audience.

I have seen this movie many times and I enjoy it just as much each time., but I try not to view it too often, as I don't want the magic to be lost. However, it is a testament to the love, passion and work put into the movie that even after seeing it many times over the past several years, it still holds up and keeps my interest.