Cath Clarke 

The Lure review – chasing fame and fortune with the Fenn treasure hunters

This thin documentary follows a handful of obsessives as they search for $1m in gold and jewels that have supposedly been hidden in the Rocky Mountains
  
  

The Lure
Is there gold in them thar hills? … The Lure. Photograph: PR

Seven years ago, an eccentric millionaire art dealer claimed to have hidden a treasure chest stuffed with $1m in gold and jewels somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. In his self-published memoir, Forrest Fenn dropped clues as to the whereabouts of the stash. This thin, slightly exasperating documentary follows a handful of Fenn treasure obsessives as they chase fame and fortune.

Like gamblers chugging coins into a slot machine, the diehards among them are convinced they will beat the system to find the loot. One woman admits to spending close to $30,000 hunting. Is the treasure a hoax, as some have claimed? The film could have done with some tougher questioning of Fenn, a colourful, controversial figure now in his 80s. But this mischievous self-styled Indiana Jones is clearly having a blast teasing and tantalising his followers.

 

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