first of all, i like it too, and the part where he is putting the sand/dirt in his hands was often subject of parodies by myself. i did it infront of the tour eiffel in paris, at the hradschin in prag. like before we entered the building/museum or whatever with our school class i ran infront, settled down and "felt the earth". it really gets you going and connects you to the nature... i wont lie...
no, the movies good, but over here its impossible to watch an american film since 911 (related to war, fighting, heroism, and all that stuff) without people saying stuff like "fucked up american propaganda movie to get the war on iraq going". it was the same with "from lions and lambs", "pearl harbour", of course gladiator and 50% of the american movies i can think of since 911.