Several
weeks ago, a friend and I went to see the new film, “National Treasure”.
Although “Rolling Stone Magazine” had given it less than a rave
review, Penelope and I found it to be a real romp through history.
The
premise is that the Knights Templar had found ‘the treasure of the ages’ in
the bowels of the ruins of Solomon’s Temple.
When the Templars were disbanded in 1307, the Masons took over the
treasure, which was later sent to the New World for safekeeping. When the
American Revolution came about, the treasure was brought to the United States
where it was hidden. To keep the secret safe, clues were handed down to
high-ranking Masons. The last man to have the secret was one of the signers of
the Declaration of Independence. When
he was dying, he passed on the secret to a servant, who, in turn, passed it on
to members of his family.
The
film then jumps to present day New England. Enter Benjamin Franklin Gage,
scholar, who has decided to track down the various parts of the secret.
He is financed by a wealthy entrepreneur who turns out to be the bad guy
of the story.
“National
Treasure” then turns into part travelogue, part adventure story, and part
history lesson. The details that
come out in the film were a delight to this history professor. For example, one
of the clues turns on the name of an insignificant signer of the Declaration of
Independence, another on the name of a street in Philadelphia. There are scenes
detailing the security that surrounds the Declaration of Independence and street
scenes of Washington, D.C. and Philadelphia. The interplay of the various
characters, including the ubiquitous nearly clueless sidekick, keeps the action
moving a fair pace.
In all, if you can suspend reality for an hour or so “National Treasure” is rather like an American version of an Indiana Jones film. Great fun.
Starring:
Harvey Keitel, Jon Voight, Nicolas Cage
Directed by: Jon
Turteltaub
Distributor
Buena Vista International (UK)
Country:
United States
Language:
English
Length: 131
mins
Genre:
Adventure
Patricia Innuso is a retired professor of European and Egyptian History who now lives in San Diego, California. She has travelled throughout Europe, Egypt, and Iran and is heading for China in April.