March of the Penguins
Directed by: Luc Jacquet
Starring:
Morgan Freeman
The last place you expect a great movie to come from is Antarctica. When you take into account the perilous lives of some of the heartiest animals on the planet, you will see why this movie won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature at this year's Academy Awards. I have to tell you though, I didn't want to see this movie. Normally, documentaries have bored me to tears or unconciousness. However, this reviewer is learning what most of America is. The face of the documentary is changing, and it's about time! Long gone are the days of these painfully slow films that document the life and times of some form of bug found only in Northern Egypt or something like that. Now, you get cinema quality films that make you care about the subject matter. Those sneaky filmmakers are going to teach us whether we expect them to or not.
The story brings you to the almost alien landscape of Antartica where penguins must march for miles between the safe place to care for their newborns, and where they find food. It's a harsh life these incredibly brave animals lead, but you're drawn into the love and compassion they have for their families. You're allowed to temporarily forget that these families survive in temperatures that could kill a human being. During their 70 mile march, some penguins do die and I point that out because it might break your heart if you're not careful. Between predators, and the environment and distance involved in survival it's not an easy life these birds lead. If you're watching with younger children, please make sure they can handle that. I'm a grown up and it threw me for a loop.
The movie is beautifully filmed and thoughtfully narrated by Morgan Freeman. He offers a calming explanation of life at the bottom of our world, but does so with the skilled tones of an actor who knows how to keep his audience interested. From beginning to end, this is a fantastic movie with the understanding that nature isn't always a peaceful thing and penguins aren't the clowns we've always thought them to be.
(Photo by: Yahoo! Entertainment)
-Jenn Untch
Liberty, Missouri
indigojenn@earthlink.net
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2 Comments
I've been wanting to see this forever! I need to rent it.
It's a fantastic movie. You'll like it a lot. I'd even go so far as to suggest picking it up for your library. When the movie won, the producers and directors brought stuffed penguins up on stage with them to remember the stars of their movie. For a documentary it's very entertaining. Like I said, it kept me interested!
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