“Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure” is one of those documentaries that keeps you glued to the screen because it has all the elements of an Indiana Jones-style adventure: a poem containing several clues about a treasure hidden somewhere in the mountainous regions of the U.S. (the Rocky Mountains).
The author of the poem, Forrest Fenn, became a television celebrity while dropping new hints about the location of the poem. Netflix brings us this treasure hunt that was followed by 300,000 people and ended in a rather curious and surprising way.
The Forrest Fenn Treasure
Forrest Fenn led a successful life as an art dealer and collected a series of treasures throughout his life, including diamonds, rubies, and gold objects. Fenn estimated the treasure’s value between 1 and 5 million dollars.
When Forrest Fenn was diagnosed with cancer, he decided to bury the treasure and write a 24-line poem giving clues about its location. Then, he would simply die as a result of his illness.
He did bury the treasure, but Forrest Fenn didn’t die. He managed to cure his cancer and became a television celebrity, dropping new clues and becoming the obsession of thousands of people. This sparked a phenomenon across the internet, television, and print media: where was Forrest Fenn’s treasure hidden?
About the “Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure” Docuseries
“Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure” is the result of a powerful collaboration between Vox Media Studios, Nomadica Films, and Gum Street Productions. This team has a track record of Netflix hits, such as “Full Swing” and “Explained,” suggesting that Fenn’s story is in good hands.
“Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure” is an entertaining three-episode docuseries in which Netflix follows four of these treasure hunters on their quest. Coming from different social and economic backgrounds, these four representatives help us understand the media frenzy sparked by the poem: encrypted clues, facial analysis of Fenn’s gestures on television through software…
The search for this treasure gained international attention thanks to the press and became a phenomenon of people analyzing data, poem structures, and clues that would eventually lead to the treasure.
“Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure” features plenty of archival footage with interviews with Fenn himself, but it has its protagonists, who tell us how they searched for the treasure and, finally, managed to find it.
But the story has a surprising ending, which we won’t reveal, but you’ll find it fun, entertaining, and somewhat magical.
Our Opinion
This is a docuseries to watch and smile a bit: how can the search for a treasure obsess so many people? It did, and in what way. “Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure” is an entertaining narrative about this discovery and what happened afterward.
Relax and feel a bit like Indiana Jones for a few hours.
The treasure hunt has begun.
Where to Watch “Gold & Greed: The Hunt for Fenn’s Treasure”
