PLOT: One year in the life cycle of an Antarctic colony of emperor penguins: Facing the most terrifying winters on Planet Earth, these oddly human-like birds survive the odds.
Forget the rebellious penguins depicted in camp fashion in the cartoon movie Madagascar. The stars of the new documentary film March Of The Penguins are the real deal and the spectacle of their life cycle is absolutely beautiful.
French filmmaker Luc Jacquet, who was trained as a biologist, shot the film on location at a colony of emperor penguins in Antarctica. Science and sheer wonder over the intricacies of nature are seamlessly combined in the English language version of the film, which is narrated by Morgan Freeman. His soothing voice can make you believe anything. As a result, the film has the overall voice of authority.
In the most intimate detail, Jacquet and his team show how the penguins emerge from the sea and parade up to more than 100 kilometres from the open ocean to their nesting ground. The procession seems oddly human, as if mirroring those photographs of gold miners in the arctic in the 1800s. This species of penguin has the ability to let us see ourselves, fleetingly perhaps, in their physiques and lifestyles.
At the breeding site, seasonal courtships are established and eggs laid as the bitter Antarctic winter sets in. Males packed in tight clusters share body warmth and protect the eggs from frost by cradling them on top of their feet under a layer of fat. Females walk back to the sea to get food for the young when they hatch. Both genders risk death in this quest.
The dance of survival -- literally in this case because the males stage a constant shuffle to move from the cold fringes of the group to the warm inner circle -- is breathtaking because the slightest mistake means doom. Leave an egg unprotected and, in seconds, it is frozen, the embryo dead.
Meanwhile, some females won't make it back, captured by leopard seals. Some males won't make it through the harsh conditions. Some chicks won't survive. Still, the slow dance ensures enough survival. The species endures.
Unlike most IMAX nature films, Jacquet never shies away from providing information. In the English version, this is done through narration. In the French version, dialogue was put into the mouths of invidual penguins who "told" their own stories. Not having seen or heard the French version, it is tough to comment. But the English narration works so splendidly that this version of the film is a success.
One of the keys is that none of the information is turned into scientific babblegab. Everything is in layman's language, although the concepts of survival and the details of biology are spelled out so the full weight of the tale is felt.
Of course, the film could also be seen silent because the images are so striking, so haunting and so exquisite that these pictures do speak for themselves on a primal level.
(This film is rated G)
More Movie Reviews
