Dragons international
Jeffery Mingo | Homewood, IL USA | 06/22/2007
(3 out of 5 stars)
"Cultures all over the globe and for centuries have described dragons. This film shows many beautiful paintings and statues from dragons across the globe. They are so widespread, I'm surprised they are not mentioned as Jungian archetypes. Unlike researchers that may treat one civilization as better than another, this work spoke of dragons in Europe, China, and the Americas with equal respect. Still, one interviewee said Occidental and Oriental dragons did not have the same characteristics or reputation. This reminded me of how others have said Wicca and Yoruba religions have nothing in common even though they may seem to.
The work never assumes that dragons did not or do not exist. In the same way that many have hypotheses about Atlantis, this work explores some hypotheses on dragons. Still, I thought it went far from exhausting ideas. On "Sagwa: the Siamese-Chinese Cat," they said dragons were metaphors for rivers; others say they are phallic metaphors.
When Leonard Nimoy narrates, he first asks a question then tries to answer it. I thought this was redundant and just meant to kill time. It certainly dumbs down the program. I appreciated the diverse interviewees seen in the work. One interviewee looked like he was Leonard Nimoy with a long beard.
Should this program win an Oscar for documentary? Of course not! Is it a cute thing to watch when you have some free time? Yes. I think parents whose children love dragons may want to get this or make sure their curious, young ones see it."
