When the noble widow (Carrie Mulligan) calls in the digger (Ralph Fiennes) to dig the ground, I thought it was something like The English Patient.
But when the Anglo-Saxon ships appear in the land, the film is no longer limited to two people. Both of them are living in loneliness. In addition to mutual comfort, they are also speculating about the passage of time and the imprint of life. Their mutual interest in archaeology made them feel the fragility, shortness and helplessness of life. Old diggers will not hesitate to tell their children the truth of the world:
The film is not immersed in the speculation of two people. As the tomb of Sutton Hoo began to be unearthed, other people came, and the pattern of the movie opened. At this time, the shadow of World War II is getting closer and closer, and the young people who are about to go to the front line develop feelings for the female archaeological team members. All this reminds you of the theme at all times: how short life is and how humble human beings are.
Facing such a cold reality, the sick heroine almost collapsed. At this time, the old digger said something to her, completely different from what he and her children said:
That's the real purpose of the movie: as long as people exist, they can leave their mark on the long river of history, just like the 7th century Sutton Hoo ship tomb, and one day will see the light and redefine the history of England. . On the surface, "Excavation" tells about an archaeological excavation event that is extremely important to the British, but the creator's ambition is far greater than archaeology, to the height of the meaning of time and life. The visual language and editing of the film are also very time-sensitive. The camera lens and music are soothing and poetic, but the external voices that come into the picture are constantly pushing the rhythm of the editing, as if it is human nature to let time flow slowly, and it feels like it can be born at this moment forever; but time does not allow people to dawdle , urging you to move forward all the time, until the existence that devours life in the end. Fortunately, life has a way to fight time: to leave its mark in time.
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