An interesting period adventure film that recounts a professors search for the lost city of Troy and henceforth it's equally lost treasure, allegedly hidden in some secret chamber.
Exceptionally well shot apparently on super-16, this is a high budget mini-series that takes us from the very picturesque Germany to picturesque Mediterranean Greece.
I have to admit, it's a bit of an awkward film at times, even though it does have a very clear visual narrative. The main character is supposed to be an academician, but also has the build of an athlete who rises to the occasion when confronted by danger.
The story is pretty basic, but there is one subplot regarding his marriage that just seemed odd and out of place, or perhaps needed a different resolution. Even so the film ends well though perhaps a bit oddly in some regards. And it does have a "conquering hero" (or anti-hero) feel at the end that seems to be at odds with the ideals of the main character.
And I guess that's the thing that really gets me about this film, and why it feels so unsettled, or skews in a direction that it probably should not have. The main character is supposed to be an idealist. A man of education and high ideals. And in the end he comes across as a strange mix between a cultured Long John Silver of pirate fame and Indiana Jones, though perhaps more pirate than professor. When you see the ending you'll know what I mean.
A couple of notes; I actually first saw this film on local channel 14, one of two Spanish speaking stations at the time here in the San Francisco Bay Area, and it was odd that a German production with a multi-ethnic cast of Germans, Greeks and Turks, should air on a channel catering to Mexican immigrants. Meaning that the original version I saw was actually dubbed in Spanish, if you can believe that.
Secondly, I actually did review this film on this website, but I'm thinking it had more than one entry, and the entry I reviewed it under has since been deleted as being redundant. Not a big deal. I'm happy to write another review with some fresh thoughts on this film.
I guess my one complaint is that there isn't an English version for the English speaking audience, because I think a lot of people would enjoy this film in spite of some quirks here and there.
Again, very well shot, a good straight forward story with some challenges for the main characters, and an ending that perhaps could have been tweaked, but otherwise a fine production. Give it a shot.
