March of the Penguins

Movie review time!

Upon Lodge's suggestion, I tagged along with him to see a new documentary that recently just got widely released, and has become something of a minor hit. It's called March of the Penguins, and, as the title suggests, it's basically about...penguins. Emperor penguins, to be precise.

Luc Jacquet's documentary follows a particular ritual of emperor penguins that live in Antarctica: they come out of the waters and march to a specific spot in Antarctica and basically spend the next few cold winter months trying to mate and create new life. The film basically chronicles the process: they mate, an egg is created, and the egg must be shielded from the cold at all times if it is to have any chance of hatching. The female penguin goes off to find food in the waters while the males try to keep the egg warm; the females return, and then the males trek off to find food. Eventually the eggs hatch, and hopefully most of the chicks live through the dangers of predators and the cold to eventually find their own way back into the waters. This whole ritual takes place in about 8 or 9 months, and it's repeated every year.

All of that, uh, "plot" description might make March of the Penguins sound like just a blown-up installment of National Geographic. Well, maybe it is---but that's not such a bad thing, is it? Besides, what better way to appreciate the beauty of nature than on a big screen, where the images can seem just as big and embracing as nature itself? On simply a visual level, March of the Penguins rarely disappoints, and I just don't mean with the scenery. Jacquet captures some memorable images of penguins mating, marching, etc., as well as certain natural wonders: there's one image of Aurora Borealis that is included in this film that sticks in my mind.

March of the Penguins isn't merely a visual spectacle, though: it's a compelling look at how these penguins care so much about the creation of new life that they have a whole ritual that extends for many months simply devoted to mating and giving birth to new chicks. Maybe the ultimate point of March of the Penguins is that it helps restore our awareness of how precious life really is, and how beautiful the creation of new life can be. In the world of these emperor penguins, life may end even before it begins if an egg freezes in the Antarctica air. I think that's what makes this movie more than merely a "nature documentary"---it's not just about observing animals and nature in action, it touches on more universal experiences in the process. If you see this movie---and I do think it's worth catching in the theater---you may be pleasantly surprised at its depth---at how, as Morgan Freeman (who else!) says in the narration, these penguins really are "just like us."