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Cenacle - December 2007

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

December 25th 2007 14:52

National Treasure: Book of Secrets

When National Treasure was released, it was dismissed by the brotherhood for many reasons but chiefly, as the New York Times put it , for the "frisson of patriotism" that it was able to infect an audience with. That's at least honest. They did not invent a faux excuse of lack of historicity as they did when they loaded on Pearl Harbor. No matter how much they pounced on it, National Treasure broke the quarantine. It became a huge hit and unlike Pear Harbor, did not have to be restricted to a single outing and so, could keep sending those frissons of patriotism again and again.

Theerefore, it's not surprising that when National Treasure: Book of Secrets opened, the Brotherhood descended on it with all its might. But the last laugh belongs to the production team and Disney( more on that later).

That's not to say that the movie doesn't have flaws. It does. It's plot is too thin and it's action elements in particular, are plotless. Those which are not, are not very exciting (like the Presiden't kidnap). The chemistry thing among the characters doesn't work at all. Amber and Ben Gates were supposed to be bickering except that you don't know why they are. Maybe they are following Ben's dad n mum except this couple can't pull it off either. Which means none of the major characters, except for Justin Bartha's ridiculously cool and coolly ridiculous Riley Pool, work.

Matters are not helped by the director adopting a grungy style of The Bourne Ultimatum variety. Except for the magnificent view of New York Liberty in the background, none of the places and artifacts are really idealised, as in the first movie. This was, for me, one of the major aesthetic drawbacks as one of the big pleasures of the first movie was the intimacy and visual glamour lent to the landmarks that were used in the movie. Though it does manage to convey a non-fake respect for history and culture, it also lacks the original's carefree adventurous spirit.

Grounding the plot a bit more in the clue-busting than car-chasing would help matters much more for the next installment in the series. Even better, make Justin Bartha the hero.

For all these flaws, National Treasure: Book of Secrets still manages to be nice entertainment. And yes, those frissons of patriotism are particularly effective.

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Posted By: nagster - Category: Cinema

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Officers who are Gentlemen

December 21st 2007 03:53

It is interesting that those who comprise a civilization can't even bother to show up, those who fight for it also strive to know what they fight for. The Weekly Standard published recently a wonderful article about an upcoming book called Soldier's Heart by Elizabeth Samet. She was an English teacher at West Point for 10 years and it's based on her experiences on teaching young military officers some classics of the Western literature.

"In class they read The Iliad, Beowulf, War and Peace, World War I poetry, and also Pope's Essay on Man, Dickens's Bleak House, Matthew Arnold's "Literature and Science," the curious lyrics of Wallace Stevens, Diderot's plan for the Encyclopédie.

Out of class, they keep at it. Lieutenants in Iraq who took her course three years earlier write back to ask about her current syllabus. Another stationed in Korea tells her, "Someone once told me that 'the most important book you will ever read is the first one after your graduation.' I wish I could remember what it was--I have done more reading since graduation than I would have ever thought possible." Still another writes from Mosul, "I have been rolling through books here at a pretty steady clip," and when he returns to the States, he reports, guiltily, that his reading has slipped.

.....The pressure magnifies the import of Macbeth contemplating the murder of Duncan, Penelope waiting for her husband, Stevens's "Oh! Blessed rage for order"--Samet doesn't have to convince them to respect Shakespeare, Homer, and the rest. The war has done that already. "

What's the status of those who don't fight?

"Compare them to students in the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE), a massive annual study of college kids. Asked in 2006 how often they talk to their professors outside of class, fully 43 percent of first-year students answered "Never," while 39 percent gave a middling "Sometimes." While Samet's students beg her to recommend books, when NSSE asked freshmen how many books they had read on their own in the previous year, 24 percent answered "None" while 55 percent opened a measly one-to-four. "

What an ironic contrast!