In February 1923, in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt, British Howard Carter discovered the mummy of Pharaoh Tutankhamun wearing a golden mask, which shocked the world in one fell swoop. The boat burial of an Anglo-Saxon king at Sutton Hoo estate near Woodbridge, Suffolk, England 16 years later, thanks to the efforts of estate owner Edith Pretty, amateur archaeologist Basil Brown and other researchers (The Sutton Hoo Treasure) sees the light of day again. Sutton Hoo changed people's understanding of the "Dark Ages". It turned out that the civilization after the Roman Empire was still brilliant; Basil, who presided over the excavation, was first taught by his grandfather and then became self-taught; things happened to happen on the eve of World War II - these The factors make Sutton Hoo legendary, and it is also known as "Britain's Tutankhamun". The nephew of archaeologist Peggy Piggott wrote the story into a novel, and the novel was adapted into a movie, which is the Netflix historical film The Dig ("The Excavation"), Carey Mulligan as Edith, Ralph Fiennes as Basil.
Without a doubt, this is my favorite movie of the year. The two depths of instant and eternity are perfectly contrasted. The history spanning thousands of years, the fragility of human beings in front of time and the endless hope of future generations appear alternately, and the theme of "human and eternity" has been deeply explored. It is both grand and delicate, tying together individuals, eras and history. A critically ill widow, Edith, drives major archaeological discoveries on her estate on the eve of the war, thanks to her tenacity and success. Basil believes that the significance of archaeology is to pass on memories from the past to future generations, and his sense of mission comes from this. Now, Edith and Basil's names are on permanent display in the British Museum along with the Sutton Hoo treasure.
A good movie is like a good novel, and the dialogue is carefully chosen. Next, I will use this as a starting point to make a little exploration of "Discovery".
Edith knew he was going to die soon: "We die and we decay. We don't live on." Basil replied: "From the first human handprint on a cave wall, we're part of something continuous. So we don' t really die." The first handprint refers to a 3,000-year-old human handprint that Carter saw in the Valley of the Kings, and it is said that at that moment, he felt "time lost its meaning." The dialogue between Edith and Basil reflects the eternal conflict between flesh and blood and time. Facing the ruins, a person who has the ability to comprehend history will instantly realize his own insignificance and fragility, and even tears. I once visited Stonehenge (Stonehenge) in Salisbury, England, and when I came into view of this world-famous site, I suddenly felt that the stones would not seem to change a single bit despite the changes and vicissitudes of the world.
In the movie, Peggy and Edith's cousin, Rory, fall in love, but Rory enlists in the RAF and is about to head out to the front against Fascist Germany. So, Edith said to Peggy: "Life is very fleeting. I've learnt that. It has moments you should seize." Edith calmly encouraged Peggy with British restraint, hoping that she would take advantage of the time she spent with Rory, which was also her own words, and she wanted to give Sutton Hoo an explanation before she died. Although Edith inherited a lot of wealth, his personal life is unfortunate: he is not allowed to go to college, and in order to take care of his sick father, he has not married the colonel who has been pursuing him for many years. The phrase "I've learnt that." is so heavy.
Edith's young son, Robert, broke down knowing that his mother was seriously ill and could not do anything, when Basil said to him, "We all fail. Every day. There are some things we just can't succeed at. No matter how hard we try ." I think this sentence is the core of the film, which is to let us understand the "ubiquitous" attribute of failure: it is the relics buried by history, the retreat of civilization in the face of war, and the inevitable fate of death for everyone. Basil isn't just comforting a child, he's talking to himself because professional archaeologists are coming to outlaw his work because war is imminent.
At the end of the whole film, Robert and his mother, who was stained with sunken scabies, lie on the ruins of the boat burial and look up at the Milky Way, and Basil, not far away, is pacing on the other end of the boat. For Robert, it was both a confession and a confession to his mother: "This ship came from the Orion's belt to take the queen home. For this long journey, her people gave her a ship full of treasures. But When the ship came, she was sad because she wanted to leave everyone behind. She was worried that everyone would not be able to live well without her. But she knew that this time, she had to go back to heaven with the king. So she It's time to set off, fly from earth to space, where time is completely different, 500 years is just a moment. At this time, the queen looked back to earth, she saw that her son had grown up and became a spaceman. She knew that when he Begin the journey to the stars, where she will be waiting for him. "
The reason why I particularly appreciate the art form of film is that it is so simple and concise that it can condense its infinite richness into two hours of sound and light. "Excavation" is such a penetrating work of art, and this film review can only be regarded as a glimpse of the leopard in the tube.
Finally, I conclude with a quote from the speech of the philosopher William James: " Belief in the grand workings of things encourages action, and your contribution may give meaning to your limited existence. " Although "the grand workings of "Maybe it's just an agnostic fiction, it may not be "hard fact", but in the face of eternal failure, if only superman can be Sisyphus and be happy, James points out a more tangible path for mortals.
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