Walking into the Omni Theater is always imposing-the stairs are incredibly steep and everyone in the audience has to grip the railing simply in order to squelch the thought of falling. The lights are dim and pulsating music fills the air. I was ready for an exciting ride down the Nile, but it fell a little short.

The beginning of Mystery of the Nile spans the river, with the entire screen engulfing the view. The camera pans slow, then fast, and the result was dizzying. The scenes of the river and the African countryside are majestic and breathtaking.

The film is about a crew of people attempting to raft the Nile from source to sea. The mystery of the Nile was that in ancient times, the river flooded every year predictably, and then one year it did not, causing famine and pestilence. The question was never answered in the film as to why this happened, but there was a dam that was built to control the flooding completed in more recent times.

The expedition went from Ethiopia to Sudan to Egypt up the Blue Nile. It mentioned the religions of all the countries, that Ethiopia was Catholic, and Sudan was Muslim, and how even though they are all different, they still get along. Somehow I thought this piece was a little too saccharine. The film is supposed to be educational, but it only lightly brushed over the issue of the religions in Africa and the real issues of conflict, most likely due to the target audience: children.

Also, when the team went to Sudan, they said they were amazed that they did not see any evidence of the civil war that has been raging for more than 20 years. They merely showed the farmers selling members of the expedition tomatoes at the market, and the voiceover said that the people were very warm and giving. I thought it was a little far fetched that they did not see any strife or any evidence of a people embroiled in war.

However, the most ludicrous event in the film was when one of the members of the group was kayaking alone through a part of the river, and a person was shooting at him. If the person were really shooting at him, why would the camera people film it? The voice in the film said that they were a band of guerillas that roamed the countryside in Sudan, but it appeared to be a little suspicious how well the images where presented and polished.

In the end of the film, the team reached their goal, but I was still a little skeptical. Did they really manage to go from source to sea? It claimed that the team was the first to accomplish this, but all the clues that led up to the conclusion seemed to not entirely add up. The whole thing seemed a bit absurd.

The film was supposed to be a documentary, but it did not appear to be true. It would be appropriate for junior high school kids who are more susceptible and accepting to what is happening in the film. The only worthwhile pieces of the experience were the amazing visuals of the river and the African landscape, and the vibrant music. It would be a thoughtful suggestion for younger siblings or grandparents to see on a day out.