Film / News
Archaeo-Heritage Film Festival returns
Having made its debut back in April with screenings of Nick Park’s Early Man, the hugely enjoyable 1999 version of The Mummy and the classic One Million Years BC, Bath’s new Archaeo-Heritage Film Festival makes a swift return with a one-off event in collaboration with the Nautical Archaeology Society.
This time, they’re showing Breck Eisner’s 2005 film Sahara at the Museum of Bath at Work on Tuesday 13 August. This was a rather obvious attempt to establish a new Indiana Jones-style franchise based on the Dirk Pitt potboilers hacked out by Clive Cussler, with a decidedly B-list cast playing second fiddle to the explosions. All those familiar characters are here: the handsome, shiny-toothed American adventurer (Matthew McConaughey), his wise-cracking buddy (Steve Zahn), and the hot chick (Penelope Cruz) whose function is to display cleavage and reassure us that the buddies aren’t, like, gay or nothin’. McConaughey’s Pitt finds a fabled coin linked to a civil war ironclad and becomes convinced that the vessel and its treasure have somehow wound up in West Africa. Trusty comedy sidekick (Zahn) in tow, he hitches up with caring WHO doctor babe Eva (Cruz), who’s investigating a mysterious epidemic. It’s all nonsense, of course – and potentially offensive nonsense at that, with the troubled Third World depicted as a jolly playground for American treasure-hunting and blowing shit up.
But there’s another way of looking at the film – notably through its hidden messages about climate change, conservation and corruption. Maritime archaeologist Peta Knott, from the Nautical Archaeology Society, will be present to offer insights at various points throughout the movie.
is needed now More than ever
Tickets are free but donations are welcome. Go here to book.
Image Credit: UIP (UK)
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