Beyond the Nile The first and foremost characteristic I want to give to this documentary is that it is filled with really interesting facts about Egyptian history, most of which have been a pleasant discovery to me. In this regard, the project is more suitable for people who already have certain basic knowledge and do not want to hear about the geometric intricacies of the Pyramid of Cheops for the tenth time. Here, the themes of monumental buildings are traditionally touched upon, such as: Temple complex in Karnak, Valley of the Kings, Luxor temple, Pyramids of the Giza plateau. However, the creators decided not to wipe out the well-known facts, and usefully spend time on topics that are rarely heard anywhere. They are not the property of a narrow circle of specialists, but are not often covered in the framework of “classical education”.
The very structure of the narrative is very diverse and leaves no time to be bored. The material combines both field shootings of legendary sights and staged scenes in combination with excerpts from earlier works in cinema. One of the most memorable scenes was Terry Jones’ interaction with Egyptology experts. Thus, unlearned book exposition gave way to live commentary and practical knowledge. One of the main ideas of the film, which I rarely thought about before, is the modest changes in the life of the inhabitants of the agrarian regions of the Nile Valley over the past four thousand years. Of course, since the time of the pharaohs, multimillion-dollar megacities such as Cairo and Alexandria have grown out of the desert sands. But if we talk about the poor population, which is mostly engaged in agriculture, we will see that the way of life of these people has undergone only minor changes. When the presenter, with his characteristic charisma, began to actively appeal to these facts, along the way inquiring about the opinions of experts, a swarm of thoughts buzzed in my head. And tasting a traditional Egyptian cake, the recipe of which has not changed since the days of the builders of the pyramids, and fitting the clothes with which they escaped from the heat, finally chained me to the screen.
The picture, in addition to naturally similar projects from National Geographic, BBC and other well-known specialized organizations, resembles some feature films. I would single out Indiana Jones: In Search of the Lost Ark and Cleopatra with Elizabeth Taylor as the closest reference points. Special praise deserves and presenter Terry Jones - a person who is able not only to provide accessible and interesting information, but also during the film personally looks behind the scenes of the peculiarities of culture and history of Egypt.
If we talk about the actual and practical value of this project, it will give a head start to most documentaries about Egypt that I have seen. As I said, a typical mistake in the form of several facts smeared over an hourly narrative gave way to the desire to pick up a notebook so that it was possible to retain useful information in memory longer. So that someone does not say that the topic of Egypt is already fed up with everyone, you can easily shine with interesting facts borrowed from here, in conversation with friends. If you are a person with a keen interest in the world around you, then, as it happened to me, after watching, you will have a desire to check the facts presented, supplement them or challenge them. In my case, confirming what seemed most interesting was the final chord in forming an opinion about the film.
Amazing. Pharaoh Ramses III himself stood there and took a shower.
(c) Terry Jones
8.5 out of 10
