There comes a point where academic theorizing ceases to be productive and becomes little more than speculation, mental masturbation about a subject that can never have a definitive answer. The murder of Otzi the Iceman, whose body was found frozen in ice 20 years ago, will forever be a mystery because there simply isn’t enough information for people to do anything beyond make guesses. Normally, in academia, there’s a sort of “for now” attached to the end of statements like that, and in most murder cases that’s also true. With Otzi, there is no more evidence to be had. Now, anthropologists know he was murdered, they know what he was carrying, what he’d eaten, and where he was found. But that’s it, and so Iceman Murder Mystery spends 15 minutes explaining the facts and then goes off the deep end showing footage of exploratory hands-off autopsies and talking heads tossing up their own personal suspicions that may or may not have any real validity. We’ll never know.
Was he killed in a skirmish or by hunters protecting their territory? Maybe. Or perhaps a jealous rival from his clan? Maybe. Or perhaps his copper axe meant he was a man of importance. Again, maybe. There’s a little bit of actual information to be had in this documentary, but it’s a ratio of about 3:1, with the rest of the time spent on conjecture. By the halfway point, you begin hoping for some hugely shocking revelation, like maybe Otzi has a mechanical implant proving he was a time traveler collecting ancient weaponry. Of course, that’s not what happened, but the lack of cold hard facts and the improbability of ever finding more (unless humans find a way to hack into brains and access memories like videos), means Iceman Murder Mystery is an exercise in indulgence on the part of scientists happy to have their work appreciated.
DVD Bonus Features
None.
"NOVA: Iceman Murder Mystery" is on sale January 10, 2012 and is not rated. Documentary. Directed by Noel Dockstader, David Murdock, Brando Quilici. Starring Jay O Sanders.
