The Spanish philosopher George Santayana is credited for having said, “Those who cannot remember history are doomed to repeat it.” I say, “Even those who remember history are doomed to make numerous new mistakes!” (Dr. Arnold Purisch gets an assist on that quote, but that’s another story!) As a psychoanalyst, I think it’s important to understand the past in order to help guide our future choices, so I respect the science of archeology and I think it makes important contributions to our lives.
This film is based on a true event, the discovery of an 88-foot Anglo-Saxon ship with extremely valuable artifacts held within it. It is one of the greatest archeological discoveries of the last century! The screenplay is adapted from the novel of the same name by John Preston (May 2007).
It’s May 1939, and WWII is imminent. Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) has an estate located in Suffolk, England, with large mounds on it. She has a strong intuition that something valuable is buried underneath them. She hires an uncredentialled archeologist, Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes), to dig up the mounds to see what’s below. There is considerable time pressure to get the job done, due to the impending war.
Edith is an infirmed, wealthy widow with a son named Robert (Archie Barnes). While the dig is progressing, Basil and Edith bond, and Basil becomes the missing father figure to Robert. Once the ship is discovered, famous archeologists soon flock to the scene and try to force Basil out, due to his amateur status.
There is another sub-plot, which I considered to be a distraction (although an interesting one), which was a love triangle between newlywed archeologists and another person on the scene.
What I enjoyed most about the film is learning the methodology of a dig, such as how to proceed and how to make sure the artifacts aren’t destroyed while you are uncovering them. Unfortunately, the film has a very slow pace (which was perhaps deliberate, to reflect the careful and measured pace of a dig).
“Bottom” Line: “The Dig” is about an interesting subject, but the movie is just ok.
The Spanish philosopher George Santayana is credited for having said, "Those who cannot remember history are doomed to repeat it." I say, "Even those who remember history are doomed to make numerous new mistakes!" (Dr. Arnold Purisch gets an assist on that quote, but that's another story!) As a psychoanalyst, I think it's important to understand the past in order to help guide our future choices, so I respect the science of archeology and I think it makes important contributions to our lives. This film is based on a true event, the discovery of an 88-foot Anglo-Saxon ship with extremely valuable artifacts held within it. It is one of the greatest archeological discoveries of the last century! The screenplay is adapted from the novel of the same name by John Preston (May 2007). It's May 1939, and WWII is imminent. Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) has an estate located in Suffolk, England, with large mounds on it. She has a strong intuition that something valuable is buried underneath them. She hires an uncredentialled archeologist, Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes), to dig up the mounds to see what's below. There is considerable time pressure to get the job done, due to the impending war. Edith is an infirmed, wealthy widow with a son named Robert (Archie Barnes). While the dig is progressing, Basil and Edith bond, and Basil becomes the missing father figure to Robert. Once the ship is discovered, famous archeologists soon flock to the scene and try to force Basil out, due to his amateur status. There is another sub-plot, which I considered to be a distraction (although an interesting one), which was a love triangle between newlywed archeologists and another person on the scene. What I enjoyed most about the film is learning the methodology of a dig, such as how to proceed and how to make sure the artifacts aren't destroyed while you are uncovering them. Unfortunately, the film has a very slow pace (which was perhaps deliberate, to reflect the careful and measured pace of a dig). "Bottom" Line: "The Dig" is about an interesting subject, but the movie is just ok.
The Dig: An Amazing Archeological Discovery! (Netflix)
The Dig: An Amazing Archeological Discovery! (Netflix)
2021-02-09
David
70
7
Interesting Story, But Slow Movie!
Slow Pace May Hamper Enjoyment
User Rating : No Ratings Yet !
7
){kind=link}
