The Boat in the Desert: Fact or Fiction?
Sahara takes it’s viewers on one hell of a comedic adventure all over the Niger River and the Sahara Desert in West Africa. Based on the novel, written by Clive Cussler, this adventure takes place, as I’m sure you have already guessed, in the desert, specifically the Sahara Desert in Africa. This film is not all fun and games, it addresses the very serious topic of pollution and how large companies are dumping toxic waste in areas that “won’t mind”.
Matthew McConaughey plays the part of Dirk Pitt, the adventure man, who is dead set on finding a confederate ship from America’s Civil War, that some how made it’s way to Africa. McConaughey has become a well-rounded actor, in the sense that he does it all, from romantic comedies like How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, to dramas like Dallas Buyers Club, and inspirational sports movies like We Are Marshall. He is prehaps the chameleon of Hollywood. His partner in crime, the comedic Al Giordino, is played by Steve Zahn. Rainn Wilson, best known for his performance as Dwight Schrute in The Office, plays the last man in their trio, the smart one if you will, Rudi Gunn. On their quest to find this hidden treasure, they run across Dr. Eva Rojas, played by Penelope Cruz, as she tries to find the source of a “plague”, as she calls it, that has stricken the local people and is even causing fatalities. Spoiler alert, they band together after they figure out the “plague” is being spread by an underground river, which they figure also houses the hidden treasure, the Civil War era ship.
The film is no shortage of comedy, but perhaps one of the best lines in the film is credited to Al Giordino, “hi, how are ya?”, out of context this is not very funny at all, but when you add the fact that he says it after sneaking up on the enemy and after saying it knocks out the guy, it becomes quite funny. Throughout the film, we learn that Giordino and Pitt have been friends for most of their lives, and have been through many adventures together, with many stories to share. Personally, I love sarcastic characters in films. I think Giordino does a great job of playing the sarcastic best friend and because of this he has some of the best lines of the film, as I stated above. Steve Zahn gives Giordino a quirkiness that makes him one of the best and one of the funniest characters in the film.
The film won two awards, the BMI Film Music Award and the IFTA Award for Best Cinematography for Seamus McGarvey. The soundtrack of the film features several classics like, “We’re an American Band” by Grand Funk Railroad and “Sweet Home Alabama” by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The film is directed by Breck Eisner, who also directed and is known for The Crazies, The Last Witch Hunter, and Tango & Cash. Eisner and McGarvey worked extremely well together to create the film that is Sahara.
While the film does dive into some clichés, it also addresses the issue of pollution and the neglect that some areas in Africa receive from the rest of the world. Part of the plot of the film is based on the sickness that is effecting the people in West Africa, that is coming from toxins in their drinking water. This makes for a good story, but can also be a very real concern in today’s world. With all the improvements we are making their are still issues with larger companies disposing of their waste in unethical ways. Not only does the film address the issue of pollution, but it also mentions how Africa seems to be held to a lower standard than other areas of the world because it is so impoverished in many areas. General Zateb Kazim, played by Lennie James, even goes so far to say “Don’t worry. It’s Africa. Nobody cares about Africa.” Even if it was only said for the film, I think that sadly, there is some truth to what he said. While there are many people that care about the well-being of those who call Africa home, there are also many that couldn’t care less.
If we dive into the facts, it becomes clear that this is a real problem the world is facing today. According to thewaterproject.org 319 million people in Sub-Sahara Africa do not have access to reliable drinking water. What this film does not address is the fact that this issue does not just impact people living in Africa, thewaterproject.org also states that, 783 million people worldwide do not have access to clean and safe drinking water. Now there are about 7.5 billion people living in the world, this means that a little over a tenth of the world’s population or one in ten people does not have access to clean and safe water.
Another theme the film, casually mentions in passing is to never give up on your dream, no matter how far fetched it is. Matthew McConaughey’s character, Dirk, sure didn’t and his dream was probably one of the ones that was farther out there. Dirk was sure that there was a confederate ship stranded somewhere in the Sahara Desert and it turns out he was right. Even though it is quite cliché, I think we can all learn something from this, to keeping on pushing on. Dirk kept pushing for his dream and didn’t give up hope, even after being told for many years that his dream was not true and was a waste of not only money, but also his time. Spoiler Alert: in the end of the film, he proved everyone wrong and not only found the stranded ship, but also a “boatload of money”.
Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed the film, I thought it was a great mixture of comedy and action. There was just enough fighting and adventure to keep the viewers on their toes, but also some great lines and scenes that caught you off guard and made me laugh to myself. Also if we are being honest, Matthew McConaughey is a pretty fantastic actor, like I said earlier he really can do it all and his versatility should make him one of the greats in Hollywood. To answer my question, in this adventure packed world of film otherwise known as Hollywood, there was actually a ship in the desert, that sailed there in the 1860’s, but in reality I do not think there is a hidden treasure buried in the Sahara Desert in West Africa, but if there is, that’d make one hell of a story.
