Visually stunning
the dig
Netflix
*ing: Ralph Fiennes, Carey Mulligan, Lily Hames, Ben Champlin
Rated: 6/10
All movies that are based on real life are fascinating to watch. There is something about such films or for that matter books that pull you. The characters take you on their as it happened. The Dig directed by Simon Stone tells you the truth whether Anglo-Saxons were barbaric or civilised who were more than just about fighting and plundering.
Set in May 1939, as Europe lurched towards war, amateur excavator/archaeologist Basil Brown, hired to dig up the huge mounds on Edith Pretty’s property in Suffolk, struck gold (literally). First, the movie tell you how he came across the skeleton of an 88-foot ship dating to the Anglo-Saxon period. The next phase was discovering the burial chamber within the ship, filled with a treasure trove of almost perfectly-preserved artifacts, made from gold and garnet: a stunning helmet, shoulder clasps, a golden belt buckle. Pretty later, donated them to the British museum.
What makes this film brilliant is the performance by Ralph Fiennes. It is almost difficult to imagine that he is the same person who played Voldermort or for that matter Christopher Marshall. Playing a British excavator of 1930s, his transformation is amazing. He plays this role to perfection. He gives an impressive that he perfectly understated what was expected of him and delivers on it. It is his expressions of hat give your imagination wings into how history unfolded back then.
The other starcast do their bit. Another actor who is almost unrecognisable is Lily Jamres. After playing the lead in Cinderella, as a fellow excavator on site, she is good. Though her role may not be something to rave about her contribution as an actor fits the film.
Over all, The Dig is well-played, is visually appealing with a treasure hunt at the centre of it all.
Treasure hunt of different kind
finding ohana
Netflix
Presenter: Alex Alono, Kelly Hu, Kea Peahu, Owen Vaccaro, Branscombe Richmond, Ryan Higa, Lindsay Watson, Ricky Garcia, Kyndra Sanchez, Marc Evan Jackson
Rated: 5.5/10
People in India will find it difficult to find a connection here if you don’t know anything about Hawaiian way of life. Still Finding Ohana is interesting to watch since the locales are beautiful and it is about treasure hunt even though it is of a different kind — not about money but about what the Hawaiian culture, values, tradition and folklore is about. Those who love to know about different cultures, this one is right up alley even though it is told from the perspective of kids and teenagers.
Given that our world us shrinking, knowing and being aware of other folklore besides our own is good. The fact that they have used a quest for long lost and buried treasure keeps one interest once you start watching it.
For those wanting to know what Ohana means — it means family. There is plenty of fun with a mix of adventure, comedy, heartwarming family moments, and a bit of teen romance. It is a movie about how family sticks together whatever the odds even if it means to shift from one city to another.