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Rudyard Kipling had another level of understanding for his story. He used the storyline to promote the antiquity of his beloved Freemason organisation. The story is riddled with allusions to and about Freemasons. All three of the main characters are Freemasons who help each other as much as it is humanly possible to do so. But the most interesting aspect is how the symbol of the Freemasons is linked to Alexander the Great (who features prominently in the storyline). Now, Freemasons are Reformation era protestant organisations. Secret societies were the only way that many protestants could meet together in order to discuss their religious feelings and thoughts with one another. Had the Catholic authorities discovered them they would probably have been branded as heretics and imprisoned or possibly executed. However, for some reason some Freemasons prefer to claim a much older lineage and structure of organisation. Hence the terms The Ancient Orders of ... Kipling was one such Freemason and he used this story to claim that no less a figure than Alexander the Great had a connection with Freemasons. Unfortunately for Kipling there is little basis for this connection, but it still makes for a riveting story.
This film has incredibly high production values and is, without doubt, one of the finest films that you will find set in the British Empire and with such overtly imperial themes. If you haven't seen this film then you should, you won't regret it.
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