Review of Encounters at the End of the World (2007) by Andrew C — 27 Jul 2008
An excellent doco from Werner Herzog that doesn't go over the same material from other antarctica docs like March of The Penguins. Herzog is more interested in the colourful array of characters that live down there where for 5 months of the year it's 24/7 sunlight. Why did these people leave their more traditional jobs like banking to come here and then moving on to interview various scientists about the work they are doing.
It's all very informal and comes across like a home movie at times. And despite saying it wasn't going to be a film about penguins there is one scene involving a solitary penguin walking off into the heart of Antarctica towards a certain death. That was a pretty haunting image.
Some of the footage he has captured is incredible, especially the shots from the divers who go under the ice free from any ropes or anything to give them greater range - they just have to trust they will be able to find their way back to the entry hole. The sealife living under the ice is a marvel to behold.
He dedicated the film to Roger Ebert, perhaps the greatest film critic of our time :D.
This review of Encounters at the End of the World (2007) was written by Andrew C on 27 Jul 2008.
Encounters at the End of the World has generally received very positive reviews.
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