October 11, 2008
Odd splendor in Antarctica
(A-) Werner Herzog is a magnet for obsessives, and his lovely new film, Encounters at the End of the World, takes you places an ordinary documentary filmmaker might've gone to yet missed completely.
At the invitation of the National Science Foundation, Herzog traveled to McMurdo Station in Antarctica, a U.S.-run enclave of 1,100 men and women who study the physical environment. We spend time with ecologists, biologists and survival-school instructors who teach people how not to get lost in a blinding snowstorm. We meet Stefan Pashov, listed in the press materials as "philosopher, forklift driver." That describes Herzog as well: His films have utility as well as transcendence.
Herzog went to McMurdo, he tells us in stern, comically methodical voice-over, "even though I would not come up with another film about penguins." Maybe not, but Herzog's camera focuses movingly on the plight of one little flightless wonder, wandering away from the gang, destined to die while following his instincts.
The scientific evidence being gathered at McMurdo points in the direction, according to Herzog (and many others), of ecological disaster, borne of global warming and political indifference. In the stories of the people, in the frozen landscapes, Encounters reminds us of life's precariousness.
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You be the critic
Have you been to the movies or watched any DVDs lately? Share your reviews here. Include the name of the movie you are talking about.
Appaloosa was a very entertaining movie filled to the brim with character studies. The interaction of the lead characters was worth the price of admission.
Submitted by Ken
10:44 AM EDT, Oct 4, 2008
Why no mention or review of "An American Carol?" Seems like liberal Hollywood is hoping this movie goes away quickly and you the "objective" newspaper and willing to aid and abet. And you wonder why subscriptions are in the tank?
Submitted by Objective
6:25 AM EDT, Oct 4, 2008
Shia was great and apparently the audiences love him. He's been in 4 #1 hits in the last 18 months. John Cusak could never make the same claim.
Submitted by Shia LeBeouf Fan
8:00 PM EDT, Oct 3, 2008
His side-winding, slyly observant portrait of a makeshift, oddball community reminds us, too, that the planet is made up of such communities.
Herzog dedicates it to Roger Ebert; beyond that, it is dedicated in spirit to anyone who ever threw one life away to find another, near or far, searching for answers.
Michael Phillips writes for the Chicago Tribune.
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