TV REVIEW : ANCIENT JERUSALEM--SPIRITUAL AND MYSTICAL

To a young nation like the United States, a century is an eternity and things Victorian seem musty and almost prehistoric. No wonder, then, that there is something so spiritual and mystical about Jerusalem, the ancient city still standing after 3,000 years of conflict.

Its story and its charms and its ambiguities unfold in “Jerusalem: Within These Walls,” a National Geographic documentary narrated by Christopher Plummer and airing at 8 tonight on PBS (Channels 28, 15, 24, 50).

National Geographic specials are usually money in the bank, ranging from merely good to exceptional. This one is on the high side, a golden, knockout hour of revelations stunningly filmed by Joe Seamans and written by producer Miriam Birch, an actress-turned-superior film maker.

Jerusalem is one of the delicate threads uniting us with our past, a storied place of beginnings and endings where 26,000 persons are crowded into an area of less than one square mile and separated into Jewish, Armenian, Christian and Muslim quarters.

We view the old city through the eyes of several individuals of contrasting backgrounds who have come there under different circumstances. One of them is Theo Siebenberg, who made his way to Israel after fleeing Belgium on foot ahead of Hitler’s invading armies. Siebenberg has devoted his life to uncovering the 2,000-year-old artifacts buried beneath his home. He picks up a piece of ancient coal, traces of history rubbing off on his fingers.

Jerusalem is a walled enclave in an area of enormous political and ethnic strife. Briefly, though, the camera provides a serene interlude, meticulously exploring the landscape, caressing the city’s stone and human monuments and putting all of life in context. A regal program.