Encounters at the End of the World

This documentary delves deep into the thoughts and reasons of people living and working in Antarctica. Profound views about life. It makes you think about what you want to do with your time on Earth. Beautiful, but at times the classical music in the background is too much to handle.

To begin with, it is my belief that this is one of the few documentaries that not only presents you information but is there to teach you something without you even noticing the whole process of scientific explanations being delivered and philosophical ideas being expounded. It is interesting how naturally the documentary combines the 'place' with the 'people' even if in the first place it didn't seem natural to find such people in such a place. Moreover the life stories of the scientists and researchers are nevertheless fascinating giving you a introspection into the bizarre 'end of the world' and its profound meanings to them and to us.

The landscapes and residents of Antartica speak for themselves, eloquently. If only we'd been given more of them, instead of the insipid philosophizing of the director. The landscapes and residents get a 10, the director a generous 4, thus my rating of 7. There's a lazy egotism in the direction, as if OBVIOUSLY Antarctica confirms his every nihilistic instinct. As if Antarctica was TYPICAL of planet Earth. Of course it is not. It is at the very extreme. As is the director's point of view. Whereas you or I might feel a blues club in Memphis or a jungle in Brazil most accurately reflect the richness of life, the director wants you to feel that you're mistaken, that life is much more cold and barren than that. But you are not mistaken. He is.

I have never been more disappointed with a documentary in my lifetime. The music, the camerawork, the interviews, the tone, the scope, and the message were all abominable. My god the music. "Mute" was preferable. It was like someone set out to score the documentary with the worst music they could possibly find. The music made every one of the few watchable moments unwatchable. A total and complete letdown. The narration was clumsy and pedantic, and seemed to be forcing ideas on the interviewees. The entirety of the film was boring, and what wasn't boring was confusing and awkward. Awful film, 0/10, I wish this documentary didn't exist.

One thing in this movie stuck out for me is an incorrect statement about a very famous event. Ernest Shackleton did have a hut near McMurdo and did participate in expeditions in the area, but the ill-fated Endurance was stuck in the ice in the Weddell Sea, and not the Ross Sea as reported in the movie. Pretty much the other side of the continent and a fact that anyone who has followed Shackleton would easily know. Despite this, I enjoyed seeing the movie. I was lucky enough to visit Antarctica and South Georgia a few years ago. It's a beautiful place, and the thought of the massive environmental changes happening there is distressing. If this movie can highlight taking care of this beautiful part of our earth then it's well worth the time to see it.