Mysteries of Egypt

Omar Sharif returns* to his native country in Bruce Neibaur's "Mysteries of Egypt", about the ancient civilization at the northeast corner of Africa. The revolution in Egypt earlier this year that ousted Hosni Mubarak has made the country even more relevant since the documentary first got released. No matter, it's fascinating to see all the stuff about the creation of the society. The IMAX movie has an elderly man (Sharif) telling his granddaughter (Kate Maberly) about what happened in Egypt 3,500 years ago: pyramids, pharaohs, the works. A lot of fun.

*I don't actually know whether or not any part of the movie got filmed in Egypt. Egypt's government revoked Omar Sharif's passport after he co-starred in "Funny Girl", due to Barbra Streisand's support of Israel.

I caught "Mysteries of Egypt" on New Orleans' IMAX screen, and I must say that visually, it doesn't disappoint at all. The camera work, the scenery, the vistas were all magnificent, as they are in many IMAX travelogues.

Then they turned on the sound, and things went downhill. To tell the story of the discovery of King Tut's tomb, they enlisted Omar Sharif and lil' Kate Maberly. This gives it a family feeling, and allows for some of the most insipid dialogue ever heard on the ten-story screen. This in itself wouldn't be so bad, but the filmmakers allowed some very questionable facts about the creation of the pyramids to slip through. (They were built by legions of happy Egyptian farmers during the off-season, not by the throngs of Israelites they enslaved? C'mon, guys.)

When the film ended, there was a general murmur of dissatisfaction from the crowd, as people felt that they were shown something magnificent... but treated like idiots as they were watching it. By my estimation, that feeling was right on the money.

Rating: (visuals) 8 out of 10 (storyline) 3 out of 10

What can I say? It's primarily one of those National Geographic specials benefitting from the spectaular I-Max camera; you get a lot of immense vistas of Egypt, the Nile (the waterfall is great, and the obligatory scene with the helicopter careering down the Nile is pretty cool - it features a super-imposed map of Africa on the water, showing the route of the river through the continent - just be sure you wait until after the show to eat lunch, because looking at it is a lot like trying to read the billboards on the side of the road while someone else is driving), the gigantic statue of Ramses the VI and, of course, the pyramids. You also get a lot of Omar Sharif's voice, who narrates the film (it's evident he enjoyed doing this), but you only get a little of Kate Maberly, who has only a small part. Of course, for any dedicated Kate fan, it's enough to justify the price of admission.

Let's face it - Kate brightens any movie just by being in it, no matter what kind of role she has. She's worked with director Bruce Neibaur before, in his movie ‘Friendship's Field'; when Bruce got the job of directing an I-Max film for National Geographic, and needed someone to fill the supporting role of Omar Sharif's granddaughter, someone had the excellent idea to re-hire Kate for the job.

Actually, the roles of Omar and Kate are really just a device for telling the story of the boy prince King Tut, and the search for his tomb by Howard Carter (portrayed by Timothy Davies, whose scenes are filmed in black & white; they also include some photos from his expedition and the discovery of Tut's tomb- they're fascinating to look at, since it was the only tomb to be discovered intact in modern times). The re-enactments of these events are fun to watch; of course, I don't know the first thing about Egypt's history, so I can't vouch for the accuracy, but it's entertaining nonetheless. The music by Sam Cardon is also very enjoyable.

The movie starts with Omar's voice-over, telling Kate about how exciting King Tut's burial was, as we watch a re-enactment of the same. We then cut to a restaurant in modern Egypt, as we hear Kate's voice-over, "That's a great story, Grandpa...," in an American accent (very similar to the one she used in ‘Gulliver's Travels' - it's amazing how recognizable her voice is). The camera then takes us into a room in the restaurant, revealing Omar and Kate seated at a table, with her back to us. Omar is trying to interest Kate in the rich history and mysteries of Egyptian culture, but she's primarily interested in the curse of the mummy. Eventually the camera angle changes to Omar's p.o.v., and we get our first look at Kate's face, sporting a CUTE smile (trust me, it'll knock your socks off).

After that, it's mostly re-enactments (the one where they're constructing the pyramids is the most interesting), with a continuous narration by Omar and a few questions by Kate sprinkled in for good measure. They're mostly voice-overs, although there are a few scenes of them walking around the pyramids and the Valley of the Kings. My favourite is when they're at the pyramids, with Kate sitting up on one of the cornerstones, looking down at Omar, who's going on about how intelligent the ancient Egyptians were. The end of the scene shows her gazing at one of the other pyramids in the distance, apparently in deep thought (what can I say - it's not one of her more challenging roles).

We finally end up back at the restaurant with Omar and Kate; we see it's just about closing time, as most of the chairs have been stacked on the tables and the help's sweeping the floor ( actually, it's vaguely reminiscent of Louis Malle's ‘My Dinner with Andre' sans the annoying waiter). They're still talking about the mummy's curse that's interested Kate so. Omar explains that "the curse flies in the face of everything the Egyptians believed in." Kate asks, "You mean life?" (there's that CUTE smile again), to which Omar responds, "Yes...life!" You go, Omar!

Overall, I rather liked this one; it's a decent enough look into an interesting slice of Egypt's history. And Kate does do a good job with her part; her character is primarily designed to ask the questions the audience is supposed to be thinking of, and she makes a spirited go at it. Here's looking forward to her next project.

Omar Sharif takes his teenage niece on a tour of the Giza pyramids, introducing her to the world of the pharaohs. By itself the film is not much more than a grade school primer on the glories of an ancient civilization, with a script strictly vetted by the Cairo Chamber of Commerce. But it's hard not to be impressed by any image enlarged to IMAX proportions, and most of the impact here can be found in the exhilarating aerial shots over the cataracts of the Upper Nile, and in the clarity (and sheer volume) of the soundtrack. The National Geographic banner is enough to ensure a promise of quality, and let's face it: a forty minute tour of King Tut's tomb is certainly better than a two hour brain vacation in the multiplex next door.

This has to be one of my favorite IMAX films. The music by Sam Cardon was well matched with the beautiful scenery shot in this 40 min. movie. Though I have never seen either Sharif's or Maberly's other works, their roles as grandfather and granddaughter were well performed. Both roles made the movie entertaining and educational for people of all ages.