It Has It All: Danger, Adventure, Religion, and Insanity

Rating: 9/10 (4 April 2006)

I love it when I chance upon a movie for which I've had no preparation. I had never heard of this when I went into a theater on a hot afternoon. This is a great story of a couple of men who have different motivations. Granted, at the beginning, they are basically con men. The world is their oyster and border controls being what they were at that time, they could move about freely. Well, we know a lot about Afghanistan now, but these guys go off half cocked, and get into the biggest trouble possible. Like "The River Kwai" they need to cut their losses, but one of them can't do that. He actually begins to be the person he set out to play: that is a god. He doesn't see the danger he is in. One slip and everything comes tumbling down; it is inevitable. Then it become survival. The scene where the monks begin to move in on Connery, is overwhelming. We have people who are willing to die to right a wrong (sound familiar). We see the confusion in the face as he realizes his mistake, but he can't fathom it. It's like the snow blindness on the way in. It is now another version of snow blindness that must be faced.
The plot is exquisite, based on the Kipling book. Michael Cain and Sean Connery. It doesn't get much better than that. Beautiful sets. Magnificent mountains. The whole move give me that uneasy feel in the pit of my stomach. You've got to get out of there. But they can't hear me.