Are you wishing you could take the kids on a family vacation? Go see the IMAX movie Greece: Secrets of the Past – it's the closest you can get to traveling to an exotic location without leaving Seattle.
This was my first IMAX experience, so perhaps I was exceptionally thrilled by the cinematic technology, which lets you feel as if you are soaring over the sparkling waters surrounding Greece and the Greek Islands. But I glanced over at my 11-year-old son, who has seen IMAX films before, and he was equally enthralled.
Greece is directed and produced by award-winning cinematographer Greg MacGillivrary, who also brought us Everest, Dolphins and Coral Reef Adventures. It is narrated by the friendly voice of Nia Vardalos, who many of us remember and love from My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Lively Greek music, featuring ancient lutes, lyres, pipes and percussion, and vocals from some of Greece’s most famous singers, help this film to feel less like a serious documentary.
After leaving the "POMPEII" exhibit at Pacific Science Center, my son and I were in a somber, reflective mood. But as the first sequence of the Greece film began, and we found ourselves floating underwater beside a 2,000-year-old statue of Poseidon as it is lifted from the bottom of the sea, our spirits were lifted, too.
As you soar above the excavated Greek island of Santorini, the question is asked, “Could it be Atlantis?” This is the first of many mysteries you are asked to ponder as you watch the film.
We are led to wonder how we learn about an ancient culture that had no written word as we visit archaeologists, who painstakingly piece together an ancient painting as if they were a family gathering around a jigsaw puzzle. We are given clues to why there were no victims found after a volcano buried the city of Santorini by traveling to a lab in Antarctica, where scientists found sediments in the ice dating to the 1646 BC natural disaster.
We are reminded throughout the film, as we fly over the brilliant white buildings and cerulean blue rooftops and swimming pools of modern Greek cities, of all that the ancient Greeks have offered our modern civilization. Their contributions include a written alphabet, a shipping industry, theater and the arts, democracy, and the Olympics.
The best is saved for last in this 45-minute film, so if you have younger children who are feeling antsy, hand over the snacks and drinks to keep them busy (refreshments are allowed in the theater and are sold in the lobby before the show).
The highlight of the movie comes in the travels to Athens. A computer generated Parthenon is reconstructed and brought back to its original splendor, as is the 40-foot ivory and gold statue of Athena that once stood inside. Statues along the Parthenon’s rooftops are recreated and colored in a way that we may never have imagined when we look at the plain white marble that still survives today. My son and I were amazed at the recreation, as was the rest of the audience, as evidenced by the collective “Wow!”
The sun slowly sets over the sea in a spectacular display of gorgeous color, as the film brings us gently back to our seats, and to the present day. But stay for the ending credits. There are short scenes throughout that children will find very funny.
This movie is rated G, although children younger than 2 may have troubles sitting through the whole thing (the toddler next to us had to be carried out for being too loud). Otherwise, the film is not to be missed. Be sure to visit the movie’s website, greecefilm.com, for more information, including a printable “Family Fun Guide” and details on ordering the music soundtrack.
This movie ties in nicely with the "POMPEII" exhibit at Pacific Science Center, if you choose to make a day of it. The theme of discovering ancient civilizations, and the lessons that can be learned from them, is carried throughout both experiences. While "POMPEII" shows you what life was like in an ancient city, Greece shows you more of a connection between the ancient past and the present. Both may make you wonder about that piece of pottery you found on your last hike, or that coin or bottle you found on the beach.
IF YOU GO
Where: PACCAR IMAX Theater at Pacific Science Center, 200 2nd Ave. N, Seattle.
When: Daily at 10:30 a.m., 11:45 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Cost: IMAX only: Adult (16-64) $9, child (3-5) $6, senior (65+) $8, youth (6-15) $7. There is discounted admission to the IMAX film if you purchase admission tickets to "POMPEII: The Exhibition."
Contact: pacificsciencecenter.org; (206) 443-2001.
Tonya Cunningham is a freelance writer, poet and antique dealer. Her children, ages 11, 9 and 7, share her love of history, beachcombing for treasures and hiking in the Seattle rain.
