National Treasure (2004)

July 4 is Independence Day in the USA, a federal holiday that marks the adoption of the Declaration of Independence by the thirteen American colonies (July 4, 1776); they recognised themselves as the United States of America and as no longer ruled by the British empire. 

Coincidentally, the weekend before July 4th, I was watching the movie National Treasure, which starred Nicholas Cage, Diane Kruger, and Justin Bartha as the protagonists who tried to solve the mystery on the reverse side of the Declaration of Independence... hoping that this could lead to a major trove of national treasure.

I have never seen the Declaration of Independence but it certainly is an interesting document to visit in the museum because it stated the aspirations of the colonies seeking and striving for self-identity and independence.

The movie, of course, began with a fictitious conspiracy theory... that aside from these powerful words, there's more to the Declaration. It supposedly contained a clue that they needed to solve; similar to Hansel and Gretel leaving breadcrumbs so that their rescuers could find them. The three protagonists followed the clues while attempting to evade both the authorities and a fellow treasure hunter. In reality, the Declaration was just a step in the treasure hunt. But what made it a focal point was the difficulty to get access to it; after all, the conflict all began because everyone wanted to get ahold of the this document, for whatever reason.

I liked this movie and I can honestly watch it repeatedly... just like the Da Vinci Code and Indiana Jones. To me, it's not about the goal too much but rather the act of overcoming the challenges; for instance, the symbolic pot of gold can be reached after the treasure hunters proved themselves worthy (by solving the clues).