User Reviews

This could have been a decent documentary, but I realized about half through that all it was, was some old guys with beards documenting their climb up Mt. Ararat, while advancing the belief in the accuracy of biblical accounts. It's a kind of historical evangelism. Worse, someone actually says finding the Ark would mean the disciplines of geology, biology, math, physics, and chemistry are all bunk that need to be "thrown out", and someone else claims that "even a splinter of wood up there would take the hand of God." They climb, they drill into ice, they fiddle on computers, and they refer back to the Good Lord a lot. The entire exercise is best described by one of the participants, "this is really a story of us being together, our journey there and back, and how that changed our lives." It is definitely that.

Mount Ararat is a huge, rocky, volcano with a fast-moving glacier and inaccessible gorges subject to high winds and nasty weather. It rains chunks of ice. Amateurs don't belong up there. I never heard why or how they chose to seach particular areas, but I figure the fact it's a war zone might have more to do with it than bibical accounts. It's extremely hard to get necessary permissions for even small areas of exploration, and much of the mountain is off-limits entirely. They desperately want everything they find to be part of a boat. Alas. Not.

There is a great rundown of the history of the search for the Ark, as well as some interesting flood story statistics worldwide. I was impressed that, for a religious documentary that could use all the hype it can get, they took the trouble to debunk a number of popular stories. But in one troubling bit, they rescue an injured climber, a great display of charity and compassion, which they promptly ruin by commenting on how stupid it was for him to be up there when he clearly had no climbing experience or even equipment. It doesn't seem to have occured to them he was a spy sent to watch them by Kurds who lack a lot of practical resources, as if they decided he was very high up on a dangerous mountain by himself for an ill-conceived day hike. The whole scene serves to highlight their naivety and air of righteousness.

Technically, there isn't great continuity. The narrator changes from Gary Sinese to someone else, and back again, like they cobbled footage together from multiple sources. Some of the music is appropriate, some not so much, all of it is inconsistent--religious rock, orchestral, middle eastern, it runs the gamut. The clunky narrative lurches around. The documentary ends abruptly when their permit runs out. But there's always the promise of next year, war permitting! Stay tuned....!

All in all, it's not terrible, but neither is it good archeology.

I enjoyed this from the mountaineering stand point. A climber myself I could relate to the camaraderie and hard work it takes to climb any mountain.

It is unabashedly Christian in it's point of view and as the title implies, it documents attempts to find Noah's ark on Mt. Ararat in Turkey. It tries way too hard, however to convince the viewer that the Bible is fact in every word and can be proved so through science. I was always kind of wondering who exactly they were trying to prove it to. If they believe in God already, why hunt for proof and if you don't believe (like me) then even if you find a boat on a mountain top it probably wouldn't change my mind.

*Spoiler Alert*

Unsurprisingly they do not find the ark, although I have to admit I was kinda rooting for them to find something by the end. If only because they all seemed like genuinely nice people who absolutely believed in their goal.

As a Documentary lover I find myself often challenged by subject matter and this was no exception. I had to remind myself that this was about other peoples journey and beliefs. If you can get past the relentless Christian message, it was an interesting glimpse into the mind and lives of these people.

Thank all of you for all you did! most of all for your faith and sharing it with others! The search will always continue until it is found!