Royal Hunt of the Sun

#PaganWitchMovieReview

We have a lot to say about this theatrical piece of English cinema from the summer of love (1969). Although presenting as a historical drama, I'm reclassifying it as a fantasy—both out of respect for the Inca, and because as a fantasy, I think it works better.Nowadays there is a large, perhaps somewhat vociferous conversation about cultural appropriation, what it means to be an "ally", and the legacy or curse of colonisation, along with the associated responsibilities of inheriting such a dark legacy. Indeed, these discussions have to be had, but I have additional concerns over and above the one about a culture being represented, or misrepresented, by artists not born to it. The unfortunate side effect of creators being too tentative out of respect tends to be silence or erasure. This movie could not be made today, and although it has giant, smelly problems with it, I'm not sorry that it was.From an anthropological standpoint, Royal Hunt is absurd, and from a historical standpoint it's flawed and must be checked (part of why we're writing this review). From a pagan standpoint? Let's talk about it.The word "pagan" in modern English is a somewhat fluid term. Originally it meant "villager". In the gothic and renaissance eras it came to be associated with satanism in Europe and was mostly conflated with it, although it is interesting to note that the word "pagan" survived this era and wasn't replaced with "satanist" or some other term. In modern English, the word "pagan" has been reclaimed. The Quechua people probably didn't and don't think of themselves as pagan. For that matter, pagans didn't think of themselves as pagan; they just were what they were."Pagan" in a modern sense is the co-opting and repurposing of the Abrahamic view of polytheistic and animistic faiths. In other words, we borrow the mystique, the sense of danger, and the wildness of the Abrahamic view of these traditions, but we shed the connotation of "evil". Once a villager, now a chimera!

The words "witch" and "pagan" have taken on such a complexity of nuance in modern English that they often defy translation. If you translate "pagan" into the Thai language, for instance, you end up with something like "crazy person". An attempted, direct translation into Hindi will get you something like "worshipper of statues". Neither of these are exactly wrong, but they're not comprehensive.Christopher Plummer as Emperor Atahuallpa gives a very intriguing performance in this film. As an Incan Emperor, the interpretation is a faceplant—it's woefully incorrect and potentially offensive to the Inca. But if we look at him as a fantastical figure, an unspecified Pagan God King, it's actually kind of genius. Is Plummer channelling the spirit of the Sapa Inca? Definitely not! But he's channelling something—something very weird, something very eldritch, something very... PAGAN!I'm going to give this film a little bit of historical credit for one detail. When you read the historical account of the capture of Emperor Atahuallpa, it reads as something quite sad and depressing: "Aaw, the poor Emperor couldn't read, so he held the book to his ear." The way Plummer performed this scene was quite different and powerful. He was mocking the Conquistadors: "The word of God? Really? I don't hear anything. Perhaps your God is shy to talk to a living God..." If I were being strictly socially conscious with this film, I would probably throw it out, but there is just a bit too much baby in this bathwater for me to do that.While Plummer is not being an accurate Inca Emperor in this film, I think the IDEA of Emperor Atahuallpa triggered something in his subconscious which produced an acting style that is mystical, if not historically accurate. He didn't do THE thing, but he did A thing, and the thing he did is relevant for pagans.When we encounter an imperfect piece of art inspired by ancient traditions, I would have us improve on them. Use the imperfections as a springboard for MORE discussion, not less, and as an impetus for, hopefully, more indigenous cinematic projects.Note that the language the Emperor is speaking in this screenplay (and it is really a screen PLAY) is a made-up language. It may well be oracular, I've no idea, but it is not Quechua, Kichwa, or any other Andean language. I would call it hair-raising, though.Cine Club Cusco has produced a number of Quechua-language movies that need seeing, but the world has yet to see an Inca movie made by the descendants of the Inca, from an Incan perspective. In the meantime, call this a snack to tide you over.

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