Gibson faces Mexico over film row

Apocalypto depicts the decline of a Mayan kingdom and features brutal scenes of human sacrifice.

Speaking to the Associated Press, an official from Guatemala, Ricardo Cajas said the film showed the Mayans as "barbarous and murderous people."

The Mayan people thrived in Central America between about 250 and 900 AD.

Outburst

Apocalypto entered the North American box office chart at number one last month and has earned a Golden Globe nomination for best foreign language film.

The film follows the furore over Gibson's anti-Semitic outburst during a drink-driving arrest in July. He later apologised.

It is his first film behind the camera since the 2004 religious epic The Passion of the Christ, which he also directed.

The controversial retelling of the final 12 hours of Jesus Christ's life featured dialogue in the ancient Aramaic language and went on to be a huge commercial success.

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