Director: Mel Gibson

My thoughts ...

Two things I did not like about the film ...

(i) I really did not like the beginning scene(s) ... i thought the first 10 to 15 minutes could be edited out ... the director shld simply plunge into the story with the invasion of the other tribe ... while he might have the intent o provide a contrast with the life prior to invasion, it did not engage the audience emotionally ... instead, i thought it might aggravate the situation, as it might come across simply as bad humor ...

(ii) while one does feel sad during the invasion, and is shocked by some scenes, there is not enough emotional engagement to let you feel for the main protagonist ... in other words, you are not "rooting" for him to succeed or fail ... it is too plot/adventure driven ... and to some extent, why must it have a kind of Hollywood ending?! ...

What i thought was commendable ...

(i) The 2nd hour was much better (at least as an adventure story) ... there are also some well choreographed scenes ... also, you always have to credit them when they tried to film with animals ... wow ... 

(ii) There are some really haunting scenes (though some might come across as too gross and unnecessary) ... some of the "set designs" would stick inside your mind too ... oh no ... 

Conclusion:
Rather mainstream ... thrilling during the second hour ... 
In terms of message ... albeit the director's objective/purpose, any "political/philosophical" message is unlikely to get across ...

Recommended, but I am not wow-ed ... i wouldnt have considered it one of the top 5 foreign language films too ... maybe it is too Hollywood ... but more becos of the first few scene(s) ... completely unnecessary ...