Overall Rating
  Awesome: 37.62%
Worth A Look: 35.64%
Average: 7.92%
Pretty Bad: 7.92%
Total Crap: 10.89%
9 reviews, 47 user ratings
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| March of the Penguins |
by Aaron West
"Perhaps the best nature documentary ever made."
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SCREENED AT THE 2005 ATLANTA FILM FESTIVAL. While watching March of the Penguins, I kept reflecting back to Jacques Perrin’s Winged Migration. I found it to be beautiful, even mesmerizing at times, but a tough movie to watch in one sitting. Quite simply, it had no running narrative, so while it kept the eyes engaged, the mind drifted further behind, and eventually gave up. Penguins, on the other hand, at least equals Migration’s gorgeous cinematography, but has a fascinating story to boot. When all is said and done, the penguins trounce the birds in every way possible.Every spring in Antarctica multitudes of Emperor Penguins come out of the water in order to march 70 miles to their mating spot. From there, they find a mate and spend the next several months in grueling conditions, trying to survive, and more importantly to them, keep their offspring alive. This new French documentary follows them throughout the entire 9-month mating period, every waddling step of the way.
Every documentary lives and dies on the strength of its subject material and that is especially evident here. Penguins are a peculiar and adorable species, plus they are mostly isolated from humanity. Unlike many animals, which we can see on television or the zoo, the most exposure humans have to penguins is Bloom County and Chilly Willy. Quite frankly, most of us are oblivious as to their nature. Not only do we learn something new here, but also we don’t know the ending, so the directors are able to use devices to create drama and suspense.
Ironically, the natural life of penguins translates seamlessly to a 3-act structure, without taking any narrative license. The first act is, of course, the initial march and pairing; the second is enduring the harsh weather, and the last is the childbirth. There are plenty of occurrences in each of these stages that threaten the penguin’s survival (conflict). The filmmakers harness these natural storytelling devices, and use them to great effect at creating a sometimes gripping, other times even thrilling narrative. The annual life of the penguins happens to be a terrific, even, inspiring story.
The production itself is nearly as impressive as the penguin’s survival traits. The amount of access covered by the filmmakers is extraordinary, unfathomable even. The penguins have at least naturally adapted to their sub-zero surroundings. We can only imagine how it felt as human beings out in the bitter cold. As I watched, I was equally curious as to how they accomplished certain shots, especially those when the weather was at its worst. We see some brief clips about the production while the end credits run, but this is merely a teaser. This may be one of the rare cases where a DVD special feature “making of” could be as interesting as the film itself.
March of the Penguins is not simply a man standing with a camera filming penguins. They use a wide variety of shot selections that give us a universal look at the natural events as they occur. For instance, for some of the marching scenes they use aerial shots that show the magnitude of the journey. We can see hundreds, maybe thousands of penguins, sometimes appearing as small as ants. The photography isn’t even limited to above ground. They capture the penguins underwater when they go to feed. At one point they even capture a predator sea lion’s pursuit and eventual conquest of the less agile penguins. The amount of coverage is astounding, not just for Antarctica, but for any documentary.Most documentaries, especially those that result from National Geographic funding, have specific, niche audiences. You know, the type of people who watch the Discovery Channel or visit their local zoo frequently. Due to March of the Penguins’ engaging storyline and the breathtaking cinematography, it appeals to anyone who loves watching a gorgeous story unfold. Not only will March of the Penguins likely end up as one of the best documentaries of the year, but it may be the best nature documentary ever made.
 del.icio.us 
link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=11299&reviewer=403
originally posted: 06/17/05 05:39:39
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OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2005 Sundance Film Festival. For more in the 2005 Sundance Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2005 Seattle Film Festival For more in the 2005 Seattle Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2005 Atlanta Film Festival For more in the 2005 Atlanta Film Festival series, click here.
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USA
24-Jun-2005 (G)
DVD: 29-Nov-2005
UK
N/A
Australia
13-Apr-2006
![[trailer]](/images/icon/trailericon.gif) Trailer
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