Spotlight

Spotlight Date: 31-May-09
Spoiler Rating: Medium

Kings of the Sun (1963)

Kings of the Sun offers an interesting premise for viewers who enjoy history. It begins at the Mayan settlement of Chichen Itza on the Yucatan peninsula, where the local people are overrun by invaders wielding more advanced weaponry. The survivors under new king Balam (George Chakiris of West Side Story fame) flee to their coastal tribesmen and then to sea despite the popular belief that the world ends out of sight of their shore. After several desperate days they land in what is now Texas and begin to build a new life. Having established a village and nearly completed their temple, they are noticed by the Native Americans who inhabit the area. There follows a clash between cultures in which the Mayans' practice of human sacrifice is principally at stake.

Although the movie finds progress in the abolition of human sacrifice, the concept is not presented in a lurid fashion. In fact, Balam's priest logically argues how it enables communication with the gods and bestows huge honor on the person sacrificed. (Logical if one is a theist, that is.) This evenness does not extend to the character of the Indian chief, however, which turns out to be a good thing. As played by Yul Brynner, Chief Black Eagle is the epitome of the noble savage: wise, courageous, capable of deep emotion, and jaw-dropping in a loincloth. His perfection might have seemed ridiculous if attempted by another actor, but Brynner sells it with conviction and thus elevates the film. In one scene after Black Eagle is captured by the Mayans, director J. Lee Thompson centers Brynner in the frame with his entire head hidden in shadow, his bronzed body suggesting that he does not need to be sacrificed to walk among the gods. Other times Brynner's eyes do the trick, expressing great pain, far-sightedness, or longing.

When not defying the barbarity of his captors or coaxing Balam into becoming a better man, Black Eagle romances the Mayan maiden whom Balam has clumsily been trying to win. The love triangle unfortunately falls flat due to actress Shirley Anne Field, who imbues the object of the warriors' desire with as much fascination as a rutabaga. (So great is Brynner's power that he makes his interaction with her erotic.) In the end it is battle and death that provide the oomph, as Balam's old enemies come calling and everyone must fight for what they hold dear and the future they hope to have. Though fanciful and flawed in some respects, Kings of the Sun is an engrossing tale and a great showcase for a star.

Copyright © 2009 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.