Run, don't walk...
....to the March of the PenguinsSee Windows Media Video trailer here:
March of the Penguins (300kbps)
To quote from the trailer, as narrated by Morgan Freeman (who also narrates the movie)There is a mysterious ritual that dates back thousands of years. No living creature has survived it.
Filmed in the French Antartic territories, this documentary catalogues the life of the Emperor Penguin from the end of one summer to the beginning of the next. And because Antartic is in the southern hemisphere..this is just reverse of the weather pattern as we know it in the North.
Except.
The Penguin.
They have wings, but cannot fly. They are birds that think they are fish! And every year they embark on the nearly impossible journey to find a mate.
For 20 days and 20 nights, the emperor penguin will march to a place so extreme, it supports no other life.
In the harshest place on earth, love finds a way.
This is the incredible true story of a family's journey to bring life into earth. 
What this film tells is the story of the penguin. But what it makes you realize is the underlying unity in the general pattern of life on earth. And yes, that includes us humans as well. The urge to procreate being the common underlying theme. As also the maternal and paternal instincts. And the biggest common theme. Sacrifice. Especially in the face of constant hardships. And a sense of loss. That leads to surprising actions.
I have the urge to rant here about some people dismissing the story as presented by this movie as subjective and an attempt to humanize these animals. But that is a post for a different day.
If not for anything else, just go see this movie for its spectacular presentation of Earth's harshest continent. And to appreciate the efforts of the French crew in making this movie and enduring the same harsh climes that the penguins put up with on an annual basis.
One thing that I cannot help but wonder...what is it that causes Europeans to produce such fantastic nature documentaries at a better rate than Americans (or atleast, why does it seem so?). And what can be done to bridge this trans-Atlantic gap?
6 comments:
I also have trouble buying the anthropomorphization spiel. Granted the backing soundtrack definately enhanced the moods presented in the film, but to me the grief of failure for the parents was quite clear regardless of narration or soundtrack.
Some of the most interesting moments were those where these penguins made sacrifices, both on an individual and group level. I think it is more interesting to ask what a human would do in a similar situation rather than draw parallels of penguin behavior to humans.
Chris,
Thank you for your comment. And you got an excellent blog. Will check it out in detail soon.
No offense, but the reason you have trouble buying the anthropomorphization spiel does not have anything to do with a belief in the essential superiority of humans over all other species on earth, does it?
Thank you for the nice comment about my site. I'm having a blast with it.
I don't see humans as superior to other species, to be honest. Though, I don't see other species as superior to humans either.
My comment stems more from my observation that it is easy to label something and push it away for one reason or another. When I read reviews where people say that they didn't like the movie due to anthropormophization their observation usually ends their, without digging any deeper.
It may be that I'm just taking the movie to seriously, but as I watched the movie, I found that there is a lot of room for personal reflection. I wonder if given similar circumstances, would I make the same type of sacrifices, or would I take the easy route and head back out to sea.
I liked your review because you honed in on sacrifice as a main theme as well (and the way you opened the review with the trailer was clever :)).
Chris,
Appreciate your response. And for not taking my question the wrong way.
I agree with you - everytime I watch such a substantial documentary of animal family sacrifices, it makes me reflective on human parallels.
And while I think we are programmed to think sacrifice, our brains may come in the way, leading us down easy street.
NIce movie indeed. I watched it last weekend with my family. All of us thoroughly enjoyed the movie.
Morgan freeman is also very good in the narration. Hats off to National Geographic and the team that made this nice movie.
A must watch.!
I have been hearing very good stuff about the movie. Might watch it this weekend.
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