Review of Encounters at the End of the World (2007) by Steven G — 23 Jan 2010

Not just one of the best documentaries I've ever seen, but one of the best films period. This includes some of the most beautiful settings and moods ever committed to film and it's insane they're all real! Some of these places look like they could be in Avatar or something. Leave it to Herzog though to make this about more than just a nature documentary. Instead he chooses to focus on the type of human being it takes to live in Antarctica. He muses about humanity's relationship to nature and the fate of human adventurism and exploration after everything's been settled.

While going between focusing on these characters and breaking into mesmerizing moments of underwater footage with just an intense, hypnotic score, Herzog almost gives us a feeling that Antarctica is almost science fiction. It's just as far away from us as the moon or a made-up world in a movie. Maybe it's precisely because it's a relatively unexplored terrain that humans aren't able to settle on and control. And this film conveys the sense of chaos and lack of human control that would be haunting if it wasn't so beautiful and intriguing.