The Alexander Complex (2024)

The Alexander Complex

If you desire to catch the attention of a certain type of man, mentioning Alexander the Great is your best bet. Well, either that or mentioning him alongside several tons of gold. By the time he died in 323BC, the Macedonian conqueror had created one of history’s largest empires and possessed virtually unlimited wealth. His body was originally put in a solid gold coffin, but was subsequently moved around a bit; several Roman emperors visited his tombs, as did Cleopatra, sometimes taking treasure from them and sometimes leaving more behind.

At some time during the fifth century, however, the exact location was lost. Many individual scholars, diplomats and adventurers claimed to have visited it most said it was under Alexandria but other theories mingled with legends as the centuries passed. The only thing that everyone agreed on was that wherever it was contained unbelievable amounts of treasure.

On 2 October 2013 an Algerian man called Jiji Defallah announced that he had found it: in Jordan. The story was reported around the world. It was an elaborate complex with multiple coffins and lots of archaeological stuff described by him as having “between 30 and 35 thousand tons of gold” (a number which would later rise).

That may sound wildly over the top except he had pictures showing golden statues and so forth in underground vaults; he also had a collection of items which he said were from there and which were quickly authenticated by scholars. The one thing he wouldn’t do is give anyone its location; he didn’t want it ransacked by looters: He wanted to secure resources for proper archaeology before exhibiting the treasure in museums etc., turning the tomb into a tourist site that could make Jordan one of the most attractive destinations on Earth.

An amateur archaeologist steeped in Alexandrian lore, Defallah is introduced in Neasa Ní Chianáin’s film under his codename, The Inventor. There’s also his business partner, Omar Aissaoui, who does the technical work of working out what’s underground and is known as The Scanner; Defallah’s agent Luc Detré, whose friends call him ‘Lucky Luc’; and archaeologist/historian/writer Valerio Manfredi, aka The Professor.

They are the kind of characters one might expect to find in a boys’ own adventure story and this is very much the tone Ní Chianáin initially strikes, though it soon becomes more like a spy thriller when it turns out that the situation is much more complicated than anyone realised.

Can each of these people be entrusted with anything? Is there anyone in the world they can trust? Does the tomb exist at all? Indiana Jones once called his goal ‘fortune and glory’, but here different individuals vie for those ends, and while there don’t seem to be any Nazis involved this time, that doesn’t mean it isn’t dangerous.

Military interventions, religious meddling with rival teams on their tail and Jordan’s King trying to keep things under control, a lot happens in a story that jumps new sharks every five minutes yet somehow still makes you believe (or believe these men believe) enough to risk life and limb.

It’s a cracking yarn bookended by a comic strip history of Alexander’s conquests which sets the tone and charts how that tale is playing out within the heads of its current cast but Ní Chianáin struggles a little for images that can keep pace. The area of Jordan we’re shown might have flashes of beauty, but it’s hardly the most picturesque place on Earth; equally, whatever golden baubles we see are never going to match up to what’s plainly dancing across our subjects’ imaginations. Which means that when the story loses momentum, as it does on occasion, there’s nothing much to fall back on; while an emphasis on kit can make things feel a bit dry.

So not quite firing on all cylinders, then; but still a great watch for fans of Alexander or adventure generally. And as a study in obsession well: if anything this will probably encourage more treasure hunters rather than dissuade them. One feels the great general himself would have been entertained.

Watch The Alexander Complex For Free On Gomovies.