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Dalia Di Giacomo

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Directed by Roland Emmerich (Stargate, Independence Day, Godzilla, The Patriot, The Day after Tomorrow)

 

Produced by Michael Wimer, Roland Emmerich,Mark Gordon

 

Screenplay by Roland Emmerich and Harald Kloser

 

Executive production by 

Harald Kloser, Sarah Bradshaw, Tom Karnowski,Thomas Tull,William Fay

 

 

main actors

 

Steven Strait: D'Leh

Camilla Belle: Evolet

Cliff Curtis: Tic'Tic


 

 

 © Warner Bros.

10,000 BC      www.10000bcmovie.com       www.10000bc.de                             start D- german CH    06.03.08

 

In a world of darkness, a legend was never written...

THE PROPHECY OF LIFE IS FULFILLED

            "HELD" D'LEH _ Let's begin with a curiosity. The name of the protagonist, D’Leh, if read backward (mirrorlike) forms the German word Held, which, translated, means hero.  Let’s go on  with a couple of questions. Is this film spectacular? Yes it is. After the press screening, still am i interested in watching it at theater and will i buy then the dvd? Yes. Is the content of this movie historically correct? Actually, when you watch the film, you don’t  care very much any more whether mammoths or saber-toothed cats were still existing 10000 bc , nonetheless they were Pleistocene animals; the production has accomplished serious research around the structure, movements and presence of those  animals. On the other hand, concerning human history,  it is almost proved that some ancient monuments may have had  a life much longer than presumed. The existence of a civilization dating back to 10000 BC, or even before, could be considered and the story of the evolution of the human species SHOULD BE totally recalibrated. Therefore the proposal of pyramids in that era may be an interesting challenge indeed. The doubt  could be: was there, at that time, a desert like we know it today and in the same places? And now the bingo question: is this movie good and highly involving.? Oh well, let’s say it’s not bad, much better than, in my opinion,  the mediocre "The Day after Tomorrow", but surely under the quality of the masterpiece  "Stargate", that was full of innovation and verve ( for me still the best Roland Emmerich  movie ever).  And under the quality of Independence Day too. But why? From the moment that the special effects are top notch, the photo quality good, the sound rich enough in  surround effect, why should this film be not so beautiful as the first works from Emmerich? For example, because the plot, unfortunately, presents a too cheesy and predictable end. After having  followed in an intense way the whole story, you would claim a better adrenergic burst towards the end, with much more explicit mystery inside.  Another minus point is represented by the many analogies with Stargate that just make the nostalgia for Stargate itself grow bigger. There are also a couple of  similar concepts with  Mel Gibson' s "Apocalypto", but Apocalypto develops its own story on another focus and with infinitely   much more ferociousness. 10000 BC is not a ferocious film, it is a tale around the capacity to do epic acts which lies in the soul of some human beings or, maybe, in everyone. Praising solidarityit is a pretty odyssey against oppression , against each kind of slavery , against  self proclaimed gods. Even the human sacrifice , compared with Apocalypto, serves the same terror but is represented here in a softer way .  Emmerich's philosophy  around human dignity plays once more an important role. Unfortunately all this is realized through a too simple timbre. I would say that this is a true great  movie for young people rather for adults who have already travelled through cinematographic stargates of all sorts. 

 

           THE WHITE SPEAR

 

            Told that, 10000 remains however a nice, coloured and diversified adventurous moment for all audiences. Some riveting moments are memorable: for instance,  when D'leh decides to save the life of a saber-toothed tiger entrapped, together with him, in the same deadly pitfall. This action will be repaid and, at that moment, a prophetical sign will come true. 

           A monumental sequence of action is the earth shaking mammoth hunt in the first part of the movie,  while the models through which the pyramid and the temple are rendered, are really effective. 

 

           Brilliant is also the effect created by the big red sails of the ships going down the river (Nile?), sails  that look like large wings which propel the transfer of the human booty. 

 

            Booty. Slaves who are mainly engaged in building the mountains of the gods, the pyramids , with the help of exploited mammoths, under the cruel surveillance of priests and representatives of the obscure cruel being, so  blindly venerated as a god entity. 

               A good character is the wise  mentor  and hunter Tic' Tic, played by Cliff Curtis ( Whale Rider, Live Free or Die Hard, Fracture, Sunshine), who was a  big  friend of D’ Leh ‘s father and holder of the white spear, sign of command in D’leh and Tic' tic's mountain tribe (Yaghal). 

          

            Before, the spear was hold by D’leh's  father,  who, one day, went away with no return, as the very beginning  of the movie lets us know.  When D'leh village is assaulted by dark warriors, merchants of slaves, called four- legged- demons, who kidnap young hunters  and  blue eyed Evolet, the odyssey of D’ leh, Tic 'Tic, , Ka’ren and young boy Baku (whose mother is killed during the raid) begins. D’leh swears  to run after the kidnappers till the end of the world, and to save his companions and his beloved Evolet . 

            D'Leh  learns to know himself, to take initiative. He will be told the truth about his father and will become a leader. But, above all, D`Leh gets acquaintance with a wider world unknown to him before. Beyond the snowy mountains, there are new dangers, new lands and new people, other tribes who will help, join and build a little army.  D’ leh, as a kind of proto-bible Moses,  guides this army to free the oppressed. 

           Another key character is Old Mother, the shamanic spiritual  leader of the Yaghal , who  will watch over D’leh and Evolet's destiny. 

 

 

            PROPHECIES CAN HAVE MANY FACES _ 

            Prophecies have, in this movie, a noticeable importance. As Tic' Tic says, prophecies can have many faces but common meaning. Evolet is the point of union of those prophecies.  Having survived an assault of her village when she was a  child and adopted by the Yaghal tribe, Evolet grew up together with D'Leh, while the love for each other became more intense.  After being kidnapped , Evolet is the  keeper of scars which build a very crucial mark, a mark which threatens the "god" and his servants. A mark who foretells the coming of the hunter; an omen of destruction of their power, their secrets and knowledge if any. Pity that Camilla Belle (playing Evolet), as actress here, is a complete flop, at least in  my opinion. 

                A particular mention must go to Omar Sharif as story teller voice, as well as to the geographical maps that the “priests”  possess. Steven Strait, playing D’leh, is acceptable. I could see him even in a band like POD or Korn. After all…united we stand, like D'Leh's army. Isn’ it, my metal friends?

 

Rating: 7,9/10

dalia di giacomo  05.03.2008

 

 

 

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