PG-13 | 1h 52min | Historical Drama | 2021
In 1922, archaeologist Howard Carter, who discovered the tomb of Egyptian Pharaoh Tutankhamun, stood at its door. After a prolonged excavation, or “dig,” in Egypt’s Valley of the Kings, Carter was the first human in some 3,000 years to set foot there. In typical British understatement, he captured the momentous occasion saying that time seemed to have “lost its meaning.”
Edith Pretty (Carey Mulligan) owns farmland that she would like Basil Brown (Ralph Fiennes) to dig in for archeological treasure she believes is buried. (Netflix)
The film “The Dig” directed by Simon Stone, takes its philosophical cue from Carter and reflects on time and its meaning. But it draws inspiration from another dig, in 1939 England, which revealed an ancient Anglo-Saxon treasure-laden ship buried beneath a countryside moor. It also draws on John Preston’s eponymous novel based on the real-life man and woman who powered that historic discovery….