heartspill

It's not War of the Worlds by a long shot but that doesn't really matter. The story is compelling and sometimes hard to stomach when confronted with some of the harsh and unpleasant consequences of a catastrophic human extinction event. Here the show goes further than most apocalyptic shows. While not as gory as, say The walking Dead, WOTW depiction of the human tragedy is more realistic and not as cartoonish and over the top. This probably owed to its non-American provenance. The flow is a bit more relaxed and the action/violence punctuated and never pushed ad-absurdem, like it almost inevitably happens in US productions.

It's worth a watch, I enjoy it and, contrary to my initial concern, the bi-lingual format ads to the realism (there is more than the USA and English in the world) of the story.

Not everything makes sense in this show and the characters sometimes don't behave the way I expected but when do humans ever do?

It is quite amusing to read through negative comments of reviewers who obviously expected an action filled plot of the likes of Indiana Jones. But unlike Mr. Brown's fictional contemporary, the life of an archaeologist is a far cry from Hollywood's take on this humble profession. This film rather adequately depicts the reality of archaeology in the 1930's and 40's, much of which still persists today. The shovel and mattock are more often the tools of choice than the trowel and brush. The tedious and often dull excavation work requires a strong social aspect and comradely on a site sees them through the often miserable work conditions, with inadequate site facilities and unfavourable weather conditions that persist in this part of the world. It is thus no surprise that much of the movie shows these mundane but essential relationships, the human aspect of being an archaeologist. It may come across as being dull but it is ample in accurately portraying archaeology. The arrogance of some formally trained archaeologists, especially those of high reputation, are legendary and the tension between the excavators and the scholars is portrayed rather well, albeit with a bit of tongue-in-cheek humour. But there are also the difficult diplomatic endeavours to massage some egos and satisfy juxtaposed agendas by various parties involved just so that the excavation can continue. The excitement of finally revealing the secret of a site, not always as sensational as Sutton Hoo - gold and other treasure are a rare occurrence indeed - make up for the all the hardships encountered. Archaeology during that time often lacked the scientific rigour of modern excavations and this movie adequately depicts this. The performances are convincing and do the true nature of the profession justice. The set of the excavation has been reconstructed with great care and the archaeology depicted true to the detail. All in all it is a slow but thoroughly enjoyable movie. If you loved Indiana Jones or Tomb Raider then this movie is probably not for you. If you love archaeology as much as I do, then I would highly recommend it for you.