The Dig Video Essay | The Art of Understated Cinema

[@arobbo28]

I lived in herts/beds/bucks growing up. I have family in cambs and essex. I've had family holidays in norfolk. And I genuinely didn't know where suffolk was until I looked it up a couple of months ago. It's bizarre to me that suffolk is so unknown.

[@mylittlethoughttree]

I'm pinning this as evidence for what I was saying 😆

[@helenl3193]

Further evidence: As a kid I used to get confused about/amalgamate Suffolk and Sussex. I'm a Londoner, born bred, lived my whole life in East End and occasionally staying with relatives in Essex. So Suffolk was closer than Sussex, but I was more confident about finding the latter on a map! 😳

[@foergitmejej]

I adored this film for the reasons you articulate so well - the ties to the land, the community, the sense of home. Lots of nostalgia for me for something that has never existed. I moved often in my childhood, mostly to places with a new language. This idea of home and community is an elusive but captivating concept.

[@lyanacat1943]

The romantic subplot works as a foil for the other relationships in the film; we have a couple one of whom has died, the other dying; we have the Browns who know every nook and cranny of each other and are content; we see a new relationship sparking in spite of the war. Like pretty much everything else presented, it's about time and continuity, beginnings and endings.

[@lstone6048]

I enjoy understated cinema so much more than all the current big blockbusters. Thank you for making a video on this!

[@ashoat2388]

I love stories of archaeology, and I was also pleasantly surprised how calm and steady this movie was in addition to being filmed beautifully.

[@Nunyo-Bizznez]

I like this movie a lot actually. Quiet, calming, contemplative. A moment in time that celebrates moments in time about the people in a moment in time digging up a moment of time. Being from Suffolk sounds like it must be a lot like being from Indiana, or the Midwest, like me. Lots of flat farmland where you can watch your dog run away for miles, and most people don’t think about you very often. Lots of farming communities full of people who can tell what the weathers going to be not from watching the TV but from seeing how badly the Radio stations come in , or how sore their old knees are. I’m glad I’m not the only person who saw this movie. As a archaeology nut from the middle of nowhere I liked it a lot

[@Littlebeth5657]

My family live on the Norfolk/Suffolk boarder and this film really beautifully captured the area. My mother used to have a Norfolk accent as she is from Norwich, but lost it when she married my dad. I was so happy to hear an East Anglian accent in this film as it has such a lovely sound. I've lived as a nomad (military brat) most of my life and this really gave a taste of a home that I've never really had.

[@AndreThisIsTheWay]

I had your essay playing in the background, wasn't paying attention initially. It made me stop what I was doing, start the video again and soak in the most beautiful description of time. I'm so grateful to you. Thank you.

[@Waschbaermutti2]

I liked this one a lot. I can't really articulate why, and I've never seen the film... maybe it's the way it invoked your sense of home, and how you talk about it? I definitely enjoy seeing things that have a personal impact on you. You describing your experiences with this film gave me -- and I believe many others -- a unique viewpoint. I probably won't ever meet anyone from Suffolk, but am glad to understand it and its people a bit better now. In any case, it inspired me to write a short story, focusing on the topic that everything changes, all the time. I don't believe you wanted to inspire anyone with this video, but thanks for the inspiration nonetheless!

[@milkmaninastonetent436]

Love that Johnny Flynn's in this film! He wrote the theme song for Detectorists, which has so many of the same themes discussed in this video. Just feels perfect :)

[@sinedits3074]

Everything you described is how I feel about Trainspotting :)

[@tomdadada]

Coming from germany, knowing nothing about Suffolk, i still can relate to your opinion about dialect and their relevancy. Good video, i will watch "The Dig".

[@tomrobla8981]

Peggy Piggott was a real person. She was at the Dig. She is credited for finding many of the artifacts. She was well respected for her work over a long career. She eventually divorced Stuart Piggott and remarried.

[@Itsme-qo2le]

Wikipedia says that the author of the novel, that the movie is based on, is the nephew of Peggy Piggott, he started his research on the dig after he found that out.

[@CrybabeBB]

I love that you brought your own personal background in to this video. I’m not from the UK so I am not very familiar with all the regional differences in culture and accents, but the way you described your home gave such a clear picture. Seems like a lovely area and I’m glad it was covered so thoughtfully in this movie (which I haven’t even seen yet. goes to show how much I like your work!)

[@melissaroscher1080]

As a girl born in Kansas we get the midwestern accent used as journalism's nothing accent. Kansas' nickname is the wheat state and its the most dramatic geological area is the flint hills.

[@lyanacat1943]

Honestly, your horizon is mind-blowing; I had the pleasure of driving it and people who haven't experienced it don't get it.

[@melissaroscher1080]

@@lyanacat1943 I love the flint hill too, sadly not enough of it on I70 and then kdot cuts and cuts the hills

[@tural7355]

I enjoyed your review. Agree with your points - films need not be overly sensationalised in order to be strong. This film is a gem.

[@frodobaby2360]

Watched The Dig just tonight because of this video. Thank you so much for bringing it to my attention. You are right, this movie is about time itself and it’s a beautiful masterpiece.

[@Rex1987]

This video gave inside knowledge to a part of England I didn't know about and gave a new angle and perspective to view this film from. I remember seeing the film I said to myself afterward: "wow, its kinda incredible how they manage to make a pretty good film about something that could be a dry as an archaeological digging"" I said this as i watched the film with my mother who isn't the biggest history nerd. But the drama and how it plays with not knowing what they are digging up (i didn't know about Sutton Hoo before seeing this even if I have seen the very well-known helmet from Sutton Hoo) and makes a human story about all of it is really good.

[@outoforder-n.p.h.a323]

I actually hadn't heard of this movie until I saw your post. If anything I think the movie does hold a charm that brings in viewers, and with your thoughts explaining and talking about the film on how it was written and just brought to life. I thought it was cute that it made you feel at home.

[@efoxkitsune9493]

I am in love with this essay. With your essays in general, to be honest. I don't know how you do it. You just have a way with words, you describe everything so incredibly well. It's an absolute joy to listen to. This was deeply moving. Your love and passion shine through. The way you talked about it, the sense of home... it was incredibly comforting somehow. Stay amazing and take care! - Much love from Czechia

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Thankyou! 😊

[@scarlettt.s9822]

I love how you talk about British culture because that's exactly how I feel about it. The nationalism that we often hear about when people are proud to be British doesn't resonate with most people. As a country there is a lot to criticise and I feel as though when some people talk about how they are proud to be British there is a superiority complex which has a lot to do with our history of colonialism and the fact that we are a first world country. For me, British culture is just the way people talk to each other, the way we do things and all the small details that changes depending on the area of the country you're from. It's just our culture at the end of the day and it feels like home.

[@helenl3193]

I hadn't heard of this film, sounds great thanks for the heads up! 😁 Also, my favourite (/only?) Suffolk fact is that George Orwell used to stay with family there and took his pen name from the local river, the Orwell

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Oh damn! I know the river, I always wondered if there was a connection to the writer. I didn't know Orwell was his pen name, I thought he just coincidentally had the same name

[@AScreenwritersJourney]

Thank you for this analysis. I watched the film last night, and had to double check that I was actually watching Carrey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes, because they looked and sounded so differently in this film!

[@image30p]

Glad you love the feeling of home! It's good to see the value of one's history. I'm still learning that every day.

[@susanno9570]

I agree with your assessment completely even though I am American and know nothing of the regional accent and culture of Great Britain. But am from the Northern Midwest agricultural area, I appreciated every aspect of this film without knowing why. Thank you for so lovingly and artistically giving my perspective voice.

[@RandallBalls]

This was a fantastic breakdown. The personal touch and viewpoint feels fitting, and I really enjoyed both the movie, the actual history which I knew some about beforehand, and now your review of it..

[@arkroogs90]

I came and watched this video directly after watching the movie and I agree with just about everything here. This movie captured the way I feel about history/the past in a way that is hard to explain to other people. Like the quote from Edith's story when Carter discovered King Tut and he saw fingerprints in the paint and time just seemed like it didn't exist or matter in that moment. The scene where Basil saw the boat on the river was one of my favorites because it almost COULD have been the anglo saxons coming around the bend. In that moment as well, time didn't matter. I feel that way when I see things in old buildings like something someone wrote on the wall 100 years ago, or handprints in concrete. Or those prehistoric footprints they found of a woman walking with her toddler from thousands of years ago. It's like these people could have been here yesterday. And they had lives and thoughts and feelings just as we do. And the fact that all that is left are these little pieces of them is wild. I felt the romantic subplot was unnecessary as well, but, like you, I did like the convo about leaving bits behind and loved the part where she dropped her wedding rings into the dirt. Because maybe someday in the future, someone will find them. And that's all there will be. And they won't know the story behind it, or what she was feeling, or why she dropped them. All of that will be lost to history.

[@PracticalReformation]

Haven't seen the movie yet but this comment is similar to how I feel. My father is big into local history and so am I but to a lesser extent. To stand in the exact spot as someone hundreds of years ago and to see the mark they made is awe inspiring and you almost feel like you are in that past moment. On our family farm there is a rock over-hang in the side of a hill and the year 1774 is carved into the rock at the back of it. We found an account from a trapper who was traveling in that exact area in that year and camped overnight in an area that describes that location to a T. I've camped at night in that spot and when you sleep under the stars, laying your head in potentially the same place as a man over 200 years ago it thrills the imagination. Is that a deer sneaking through the woods or a band of natives hunting? I might as well be hundreds of miles from the nearest settlement and not the reality that im 30 minutes walk from a car and a warm house. When we went on family vacation to Boonesburough and we found and drank from the same freshwater spring that Daniel Boone found where he built his first settlement in that area. I felt what you're describing. A timelessness and connection.

[@arkroogs90]

@@PracticalReformation Yes! I love that!

[@rubensschiozer3058]

I've never been to suffolk, I'm from Brasil, but this is definitely one of my favorite movies of the last year.

[@dragon-ed1hz]

My favorite understated film is "Tender Mercies" from 1983. Robert Duvall won Best Actor and Horton Foote won Best Screenplay at the 1984 Oscars. It was nominated for Best Picture and Best Director also. Definitely worth watching.

[@crispycarrots]

I really loved this film, its depiction of the English countryside was wonderful and thank you for pointing me to Dave's walks!

[@xzonia1]

You sound British, but I never could figure out from where, so this explains it (I am horrible at accents and can't recognize them well, so I wasn't worried about not being able to place you). I've lived in Texas my whole life, but I don't feel connected to it or the US in general. I don't feel tied to anywhere, nor do I fit in. It's wonderful to hear you speak of the place you come from with such affection and connection. I guess it's no coincidence that you represented yourself with a tree? You are tied to the lands where you were born. :)

[@AlexSoetekouwProductions]

For some reason You can articulate perfectly those things I ponder about in bed late at night, like what I find so strange about the passage of time. I subscribed.

[@FiveAcreFarm]

Love your videos, they resonate with me. I listen to them as I fall asleep at night and they really keep my thoughts from racing and calm me! Thanks!

[@sophie-ij5qe]

Thank you for sharing your personal and beutifully emotional thoughts. This was indeed a quietly amazing movie.

[@ToothpikcOriginal]

Lovely analysis, thanks for the video. This film is so beautiful

[@Pixiel711]

To horse people, Suffolk means Suffolk Punches. This video helps me get why they are such an understated (and underappreciated) gentle breed. They seem to have been made perfectly by and for people like Basil. Being a history buff who obsesses over stuff like Sutton Hoo, I had no idea this film existed and will now be adding it to my queue, thanks!

[@bg6513]

Suffolk accent comes out at 6:40 and 7:15.

[@bg6513]

"Talkin' with Eeedith"

[@bg6513]

Also love the point on localism/regionalism vs nationalism. Something real and material vs something constructed and false.

[@callmeodd1527]

Ever since I watched this movie I've known I've known there's something special about it. At times it has frustrated me because I can't reccomend it to people, because this movie is something you have to discover. I would like to be an art conservator and a lot of my motivation behind that can be found in this movie which makes it very personal. And it might sound silly but seeing my name (Edith) in a movie I already feel a connection feels almost intimate and like it is, and in a way always has been, a part of me, even when I didn't know it. I don't know if any of this makes sense but it was nice to write it down (Also, another movie I like that has the same kind of understatet vibe as this one is the studio Ghibli movie "The wind rises" it's one of my favourites)

[@Kasia_Luna]

Excellent video!! I absolutely adored the Dig. It has that slice of life feel to it that I really needed amidst this pandemic. :)

[@EdwardSargeant]

Great video! I'm definitely going to give this film a watch. Thanks for sharing.

[@ScotisticDad]

I have really started appreciating understated movies with small scale recently. Need to give this a look. Would recommend "Locke" starring Tom Hardy on the note of understated.

[@wookienookum]

I liked hearing about your love of your home place. Snow Falling on Cedars is a movie with a similar effect on me. I grew up on an island in the Puget Sound, off the coast of Washington state in the USA. It's the only movie I ever watched that actually captured the quiet atmosphere and anxiety of being who I am in my home.

[@lilpingu1066]

I agree about a lot of the aspects that you discuss, but personally I feel like the pace was pretty rushed. The themes of death and “what will be left of us 1000 years in the future” were beautiful but I feel not explored enough. And it felt like they were rushing through the parts with just basil on the dig so that they could introduce a whole bunch of other characters that I don’t care about. The romance sub-plot feels so undeserved, it felt squashed in. And the way they used lily james in the bath scene feels gross. I understand they were trying to show how her husband was not really attracted to her- hinting at his sexuality- but did they really need a shot above to show her tits? It was unnecessary and just a moment to keep people watching.

[@APoliticalConfusionAndMess]

LOL. Ok, feminazi.

[@rem975]

@@APoliticalConfusionAndMess that's kinda rude

[@francess9656]

While I agree with you that the romantic subplot seemed rushed and underdeveloped, I think it should be mentioned that, to a degree, it was meant to be. Since the story takes place just before the war, there are shots of people "seizing the moment" romantically peppered throughout the film that contextualize the suddenness of her romance. The political climate forces her to examine her marriage and feelings very swiftly and decisively. I got the impression that her marriage was also brash and ill considered since1) they had quickly gotten married before the war and 2) she seemed not to have figured his sexuality out yet. The romantic subplot makes sense as one of the film's musings on time, but should definitely have been carried out more carefully and thoughtfully.

[@lilpingu1066]

@@APoliticalConfusionAndMess wha? 😆

[@lilpingu1066]

@@francess9656 yeah, that makes sense. I’ve felt pretty torn over whether it’s a good film or not, and not just for this film but other shows too. I heard the phrase, “a bad film disguised as a great film” and it got to me so much! For instance, am I just being tricked by nice cinematography and quiet tone, and the actual plot line and characters are awful? I don’t know anymore.

[@theviper1999uk]

It is a beautiful film and full of life and memory, what a good personal review too !!

[@Yetgo]

This actually sounds pretty amazing, I will definitely watch the film!

[@SleepyLeeeee]

Sentimental, yeah, I agree. Sad and happy.

[@sean911b]

beautiful video. Thanks for making it!

[@frodobaby2360]

While you still have Netflix, you should watch The Queens Gambit.

[@muratemkuzhev1958]

Would you consider doing a video about Tarkovskys "Mirror"? I would love to hear your thoughts on that movie!

[@chumreewalnut]

as someone from North Essex, I felt the dig the same way.

[@atthebridge]

Oh come on! 101 Dalmatians. Wuff wuff wuffolk.

[@LizzaRob160]

I love this film so much!

[@GREATLORDPOOH]

it reminds me of the monopoly story from zeitgeist were at the end of the game it all goes back in the box

[@bt8594]

How can you go on about Suffolk and not mention Akenfield or Peggy Cole's amazing council house garden? I will watch this movie asap thanks for your personal appreciations!

[@NickLunatic]

Alright, I guess I’ll to look into this one. Thnx

[@Banzai51]

It was a nice change of pace with it being slow but purposeful. But they seemed to lose it when they brought in the Archeologists and suddenly crammed all their subplots into the film. Spent too much time with them and gave them too much weight.

[@californiacatnip857]

So, is a Suffolk accent the equivalent of a Mississippi accent in America?

[@artemborodavka2770]

Do you think they'll grant me a visa if I say I want to come visit Suffolk or they would just laugh at me? Love the credits. "Hitler was gay" is a joke by David Mitchell; there's also a "Hitler's only got 1 ball" sketch by Armstrong and Miller. Sometimes I wonder why do I need to know such things about British comedy, doesn't seem much useful for a Ukrainian.

[@language-n-learning]

I loved the film.

[@Bennahr_Fett]

Hi, I know you won't read this, but can you Please please please do a video on superiority complex

[@Desimere]

I had the same problem with Netflix, so i thought i might share with a friend and found out that everyone else is already sharing. The price gets reasonable when you do. *hint, hint*

[@cardrave]

Please do more movie videos!

[@SpannerScrew]

Did you use 'context' as a pun intentionally there? :P

[@mylittlethoughttree]

Uhhh yes, yeah it was deliberate, I err... I'm very witty 😅

[@musstakrakish]

Awesome video!! And I feel the exact same way with being an american. Not happy or proud to be apart of this disease of a country.

[@alpharadisbad3927]

Lol why does the UK have so many accents wtf. It's like the size of 1 US state and has more accents than the US

[@LegoLoos2006]

Nice

[@jenjones90]

Suffolk doesn't get much recognition....doesn't ed sheeran talk about it all the time 😅 The two films I remember being based in Suffolk were I Capture the Castle and Yesterday, but I don't think any of them had the accent. As someone from North Wales I get very tired of every Welsh person on TV and and film always having a South Wales accent.. funnily, a lot of people I've met abroad don't think I'm from "proper wales" cause I'm not from Cardiff and "don't have a Welsh accent"...when in fact, unlike a lot of people in South Wales I grew up speaking the language.

[@kevin_andrews735]

I liked it but it did have this strange conservative undertone, like a wealthy person's perspective on an "exemplary labourer".

[@funckyjunky]

I have watched this movie. Acting, directing, cinematography was good. But I could not finish watching it. The story was boring.

[@WetBoy]

This movie sucks

[@Banshun]

I enjoyed the film for what it was. On archeology forums people are screaming 'More finds.' On history forums people are screaming 'less love interest.' In the film nobody is screaming. I wonder if you like the Detectorists, too? It has a similar pacing, which made it totally refreshing to me when I first saw it.

[@neutrallynonsensical3477]

I’m an archaeology student and the film made one of my lecturers cry. It’s not perfect but it’s really beautiful in a way, especially when most of us are unable to be out digging at the moment.