Monumental: In Search of America's National Treasure (2012)

Too much of everything

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Excellent but underrated film

Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay

This film went beyond what I learned in school about the pilgrims. It goes through more detailed events leading up to them landing at Plymouth, MA in 1620. It gives you a sense of how desperate times were in England under a tyrannical government which had no tolerance for Christians. Kirk Cameron talks to historians and experts to paint a picture of just how hard the Puritans fought to be free from an oppressive government. Cameron, with the help of a historian, discovers a hidden gem of history--a little heard about monument to our founding--and gives the viewer an interpretation of the meaning of said monument. An excellent film that every American should see.

I've never written a review before but it also seems that Mr. Cameron has never seen a documentary before. I admittedly skipped over some points where Cameron is beyond perplexed and where he is subjected to painfully slow, rhetorical questions given in Sunday school format. However, I will attempt to cover some of my personal high and low points without rage quitting like i did this film.The first monumental bowl movement of the film is in the opening where Cameron explains that we are all going to hell in a hand-basket and that the only thing that will set us straight is a revival to God's path and adhering to the saying "one nation under God." The term was only added to the pledge of allegiance in the late 40's or 50's and we all know how diverse and accepting of other cultures America was then. The next three quarters of the film is dedicated to the pilgrims' arduous journey from England, to Holland, back to England, and then the new world in order to seek religious freedom from the Anglican church. The film almost comically takes this in full stride while prescribing religious law and a conjoining of church and state. Without even realizing it, Cameron and company come full circle back to the same environment which drove the Puritans from England. The Puritans were also relatively a small sect in colonial America. Can someone please talk about the Georgia penal colony for a fresh change?Moving on to our forefathers, the film tries to change their beliefs postmortem. They do so by citing that 12 of these heathens financed a commemorative bible and that Thomas Jefferson endorsed the bible as a book to be used in school without the consideration of some simple realities. In the late 1700's and throughout much of the 1800's books were available but scarce. While Bostonians such as Benjamin Franklin had access to immaculate libraries, you're average country bumpkin only had one book, the Good Book. This made the Bible an excellent and accessible tool to cement literacy in the fledgling nation. Why must the founding fathers be Christian anyways? It seems to me that the point of America was that it doesn't matter what you do or do not believe in, all that matters is that you're American and wish to see this great experiment succeed. It seems that Monumental would have the creed read, "One nation under God, but only for the white Anglo-Saxon Protestants.":For the pros- I never knew that Puritan monument in Massachusetts existed. Cool.Also, I've spent five years in a state school and have never f*cking heard of The Godless Constitution once. (That was supposed to make you laugh)Thanks for reading! I'm a Christian!

Do you know the answer? I didn't either and I am now annoyed I was never taught about this 81 ft tall monument in Plymouth. If you answered no, you should definitely watch this movie. Education and truth is out there for those who are not lazy and seek it out. There are people deciding what is taught to us in this country and creating standardized curricula. This may be one of the greatest dangers to the future of our country and what kind of children we will sow. The movie also investigate forgotten inscriptions at Harvard University and some very interesting documents in Texas. The movie is a little slow at some points in the beginning but revs up once you get to the monument and its interpretations.

This is one of the most enlightening movies about the American pilgrims, that has ever been filmed. There are discoveries in this movie which will assist Americans with understanding who they are and what their country is founded upon. The film addresses the hardships Americas forefathers endured in order to make it to America. No other documentary about America has ever delved into this much detail concerning its forefathers and their historical past. Those of you who want to know the foundations of America could not pick a better movie to watch and a better foundation for your further research, than this film "Monumental". Every school child in America should be introduced to this film. This film takes you on an exciting journey, and opens your eyes to the history of America's forefathers, what they experienced, what they had to contend with, and how they finally endured the hardships and made it successfully to the shores of what is now Massachusetts. It winds through many countries as well as some states within America, covering some specific history and documentation and finally takes you back to Massachusetts and introduces you to one of the most historical Monuments in America, and one to which most Americans are unaware.