Review LXXIII
Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
I got the chance to go to the Yukon, Canada this summer, and I thoroughly enjoyed my experience. I tanned very well given the sun is up for, oh, twenty hours per day, and it was very well, so if you're scared of going because of the cold, go in the summer - you'll be fine. That being said, I still adore the cold. My winters consist of snow, snow, and more snow, and I'd go to the Yukon in the wintertime in a heartbeat. I suppose that's why I took an interest to Werner Herzog's documentary Encounters at the End of the World. It involves a place not many people would ever imagine visiting, nor feel the inclination to go. Meanwhile, I'll be booking a one-way ticket, hehe.
Werner Harzog and Peter Zeitlinger, an Austrian cinematographer, hed to Antarctica in order to find out what is going on one of the most desolate places on the Earth. Along the way, they meet some pretty well-accomplished and interesting individuals, as well as capture extraordinary shots on film.
I went into this film biased, but I'd still like to think my opinion of it holds up. It's a... random documentary. It lacks a certain focus, I suppose you can say, given that it focuses on many different aspects, ranging from culture to neutrinos (love those guys!). However, right off the bat, you're warned that this film will get odd, as you start with Werner Harzog asking why a monkey doesn't just get atop a horse and ride off into the sunset. But I mean, this film is tackling the idea of Antarctica and what is going on there. I mean, while it is desolate, McMurdo Station - a research centre on the continent - houses many particular individuals who each have a story to tell. So, in the end, we're forced to hear many different stories. And I was totally fine with this. I thought it peeked my interest in many different fields of study, and, since I am in my pursuit of education, I really took a great interest in seeing where my education and career could one day take me. It was also kind of settling seeing all these different types of people coming together and studying something that, in the end, is to further understand the Earth and the creatures inhabiting it. As they say in Chinese, we're all 在天下, which literally translates to under the sky. Still, as a human species, we forget that we're connected in some way very often... Alright, I'll stop before I go all philosophical and naive in this post.
The cinematography was grand, as expected. I made sure to download a high-quality of the film, and I did not regret it. The underwater shots were great, and even the way the other scenes were shot were great. I liked the movie-within-a-movie when we get to watch Them on screen. Brilliant, just brilliant.
I thoroughly enjoyed the film. Again, it's pretty all over the place, but I nonetheless stand by it. It makes you feel almost despondent at the end and not happy-go-lucky, but documentaries are made to make you think, I suppose. Either way, if you're looking for something a bit different, quirky, but still pretty good, check it out.
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