Antarctica: A Year on Ice (2013) User Reviews

Antarctica steals the show

[jubeedoo · 9/10 · 27 July 2013]

Watching Antarctica: A Year on Ice, you'll run out of superlatives to describe the experience. Then you'll start using them all again, in combination, and you'll still be unable to adequately describe what you've seen.

This masterpiece of a film was made by Anthony Powell, a Satellite Communications Technician working out of McMurdo Base, the United States station in Antarctica. It's obvious that the film was born of a deep passion for the place, which he and his wife Christine have returned to, whenever possible, year after year.

How do you share your thoughts about a place which defies description - a place vital to our planet, but which the vast majority will never see? Powell began by taking photographs, recording video, documenting life on the base, the idiosyncrasies of those who work there, and the beauty of the landscape. Over the years, whenever not working on the communications equipment he is responsible for, he's been working on techniques for gathering images in unusual and hostile conditions, often refining or even creating his own gear in order to capture the experience of living in Antarctica for a year.

The result is brilliant; by turns funny, terrifying and heartbreaking - but always awe-inspiring. It's not about the cinematography, (although the photography is frequently top-notch, and some of the time-lapse sequences are stunning,) and other than a few matter-of-fact mentions, nor does Powell delve into political or environmental debate. His purpose here is showing the audience what Antarctica is LIKE: how it feels to work there, what it really looks like, what happens there. His success in this endeavour is as superlative as the film.

See Antartctica: A Year on Ice in the cinema - on the biggest screen you can - and then just wonder at it.

The Celestial Show Can Be Worth the Price of Admission

[larrys3 · 7/10 · 31 July 2015]

This informative and visually fascinating documentary centers on two themes primarily, and is set on the continent of Antarctica, which lies at the very bottom of our planet.

First, the film gives us a rather intimate look at the people who venture there to live and work at McMurdo Station, the U.S. camp in Antarctica, and which is by far the largest of the some 30 international stations set up and protected by treaty.

Secondly, the movie treats us to the spectacular celestial shows that occur there, as well as looks at Mt. Erebus, the southernmost active volcano on the globe, the Dry Valleys (considered by many to be closest to the topography of Mars), as well as some glimpses of the surrounding animal population, namely penguins and seals, who can survive the incredibly harsh conditions on the continent.

Anthony Powell, who grew up on a dairy farm in New Zealand, directs, narrates, and often appears in the documentary (which was 10 years in the making), as he's a veteran of travel there, and whose job it is to set up radio communications in remote areas outside the camp. He allows the viewer to get a real feel of a full year in Antarctica, which basically has only two seasons summer and winter, with the incredibly stark contrasts between the two.

Overall, this film gave me a strong sense of what it would be like to live and work there, and I found it to be an absorbing experience highlighted by nature and one of the very few areas in the world not yet changed by mankind.

....if not the best documentary I've ever seen.

[bbickley13-921-58664 · 8/10 · 3 December 2014]

I feel like I learned so much about living on the continent, something most docs never really show(at least human life).

Although subjects like the interaction between humans and other animals on Antarctica were very quickly touched upon, the imagery from the filmmaker told a story he didn't need to share with words.

It was so beautifully shot by Antony Powell whose 13 years living on the ice met he knew his subject well enough to capture every thing the Terran is.

I love the fact that the movie starts out with the section of Antarctica not always fully covered in ice. I knew it existed but It's always weird when it's mentioned (or seen). It sets the tone that your going to learn something new from this doc, and I did.

I got a feel of what it's like to live in the arctic from people from all walks of life who do it year long. Not just scientist and military types,but regular people like fire men and store clerks (who run convenient stores on Antarctica). Living with each other in the most isolated place imaginable.

I got to see what I've only read about, like the four mouths of never ending darkness after the four mouths of never ending sunlight. The monstrous weather. I got so see what these conditions do to humans like a brain freeze that makes you loose your track of thought and how living through the harsh winter makes you interact with others who don't.

And of course we got to see penguins (and other animals as well).

It was just a beautifully shot and interesting documentary from a filmmakers personal experience. Fantastic!

Beautiful, spellbinding, a real experience

[bruce-129 · 17 June 2015]

Several years ago I watched Werner Herzog's documentary "Encounters at the End of the World", and I know that I would be interested in this movie.

It's hard to say this movie is better. They are both similar, but the photographer in "Antarctica: A Year on Ice" had the time to think and explore and set up shots that are just out of this world. I feel like I had the wonderful experience of living in Antarctica and for that I am thankful to this movie.

I won't go on at length, because this is a movie that has to be experienced. I sadly notice that some people have rated this low and it is hard to believe. Were they forced to watch it? I can't figure out why other than they are just not ready in a place to experience this idea.

This would be a little like going to another planet or living in a generation ship, isolated from humanity and yet maybe feeling your humanity so much the more.

Great movie ... 10/10.

Visually Stunning, An Impressive Experience

[pmlund · 10/10 · 15 October 2013]

There are several films that take place in Antarctica; however only a couple have focused on what it is like to actually live there. Like in Werner Herzog's documentary 'Encounters at the End of the World', the audience is introduced to several members of the support staff at McMurdo Station, Antarctica. However in Antarctica: A Year on Ice, we're not just seeing a snippet of time in their lives on a given day. We're seeing how they progress through an entire year – how they are affected by the 24 hours of summer sunlight, the unending darkness of a harsh winter, and the isolation. All of this is presented in the context of Nature, her ebbs and flows, power and beauty.

Over the years Anthony Powell has perfected his ability to capture and condense images of Nature in a manner that allows the audience to appreciate her creations in a timely manner. Nature is just as much of a character in the film as the others; although one could argue a more visually stunning one. Where else in the world can you see auroras dancing over a backdrop of the Milky Way, a storm so powerful that you can barely close the door, or get the real poop on penguins?

By the end of the film, Anthony Powell has led the audience through a year in Antarctica as experienced by the people who have been there and done that. It's much more than just a glimpse. It describes both an environment and a culture that very few are lucky enough and fortunate enough to experience first hand.

Escape to the magic of Antarctica

[ancient_horsemen · 10/10 · 9 October 2013]

Unlike many documentaries of Antarctica that focus on the wildlife, this amazing movie gives an insight into the life of those hardy souls who spend 6-12 months in this harsh continent. With honesty and humour, Anthony Powell treats the viewer to an insiders guide to some of the characters that call Scott Base or McMurdo Base their home for a season or two. This is the closest that most of us will ever get to experience a year working at the bottom of the Earth, but boy does it make you dream of going there yourself one day. Add to that some stunning footage of the untouched vastness of the Antarctic landscape, the night sky through the long winter nights, the ethereal shimmer of the Aurora and time-lapse videography and you get, in my opinion, a perfect 92 minutes of escapism to a place that most of us will never set foot on, but all of us should appreciate.

Enough time lapse already

[calorne · 6/10 · 22 November 2019]

There are some beautiful shots and a sense of holed-up camaraderie. Unfortunately, there was too much time-lapse photography. So that I frequently just wanted to see stills or real time video and the over abundance of time lapse became distracting,

I would also like to have had a better understanding of what the people working at the various national stations actually do. For example, there was a fireman, what does a fireman do in Antarctica? How often do fires occur? How to you get the water-hose to work when it's so cold? There was a man taking about avocados and toast with lots of scientific equipment behind him. What was the equipment?

We were told that there is no time to dally in Antarctica, it's work work work as soon as you step off the plan. But there was scant clear evidence of any work. There seemed to be a lot more sitting about chewing the cud or having meals or making movies.

There was mention of the crucial role of scientific research worked on by internationals who would not usually be cooperating so readily, but were working for the betterment of mankind. What were they researching and how?

An amazing opportunity

[planktonrules · 10/10 · 16 January 2016]

You really have to admire the filmmakers and their willingness to put themselves way, way out to get a movie made. After all, most nature documentaries require a few weeks or perhaps a few months of filmmaking...yet these folks were there for a year. And, most importantly, they were in Antarctica for a year...and as I said, you really need to admire these folks.

The film is set at the US (McMurdo) and New Zealand (Scott) research stations and I was surprised to hear that there were up to 5000 people in the many research stations during the summer months. This portion of the film was interesting, as it held seals and penguins and life seemed not entirely awful. However the hellish and LONG winter was actually much more interesting--with the storms and things the folks did to avoid becoming like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining"!

Overall, this film has some of the most incredible cinematography in any film I've seen and it's never boring. I also wonder if it was originally made for the IMAX or OMNIMAX theaters...it really would look insanely good on such screens.

Beautiful Film About Antarctica

[Siebert_Tenseven · 6/10 · 19 April 2015]

This is an absolutely incredible visual and auditory experience. The scenery is close to what one would have seen in the Lord of The Rings films, and the music seems like it's from Lord of The Rings as well. It's almost as though the globe shifted and New Zealand overlapped with Antarctica, complete with similar production companies.

For some reason, the narrative is very difficult to follow. For about fifteen seconds someone is being interviewed, and then another person is being interviewed for about five seconds. Then there are some time lapse penguins and some time lapse views of mountains with heroic music. It's almost like watching a large number of commercials end to end.

After a while the fascination wears off. In some ways I started to feel like I was trapped in a camera that refused to function correctly. I never really got a chance to find out about anyone or their experience in depth. There isn't really any sense of character development. Plenty of descriptions of things but not too much much reflection of how it feels.

If you're looking for something to watch that is visually stunning, this is probably as good as it gets. If you're interested in finding out what it's like to spend a year in Antarctica there are some excellent written accounts from explorers in the past that describe a lot more of what it was really like, minus the comfort of email.

A most warm and heartfelt documentary about the most cold place on Earth

[Semisonic · 9/10 · 25 March 2015]

Documentaries are definitely not for everyone. It takes a certain patience, curiosity and contemplation to watch the world living its ordinary life, just like it's the case with soap operas or reality shows that try to imitate the real life in vitro. And i consider myself lucky to be able to enjoy the documentaries, since it really is a unique genre that offers some unique experience to a viewer.

Honestly, i didn't expect too much from this film. In my experience with nature documentaries, one has to be both really big and really professional to shoot a truly decent documentary, that is why i absolutely adore the BBC films with David Attenborough, moderately accept the Discovery and National Geographic products and am outright sceptical about everything else. And this movie had that amateur indie feeling that in 99 cases out of 100 means that the outcome is bound to be mediocre.

To my big (and pleasant) surprise, this was that very "1 out of 100" exception. Yes, the movie is basically made by a single man, a time lapse photography enthusiast who spent several years working on a polar base in Antarctica. But the fact that we are being introduced to that vast and secluded icy world by someone who's not a stranger to it himself makes it a different experience entirely. Anthony "Antz" Powell doesn't simply look for some "fancy stuff" to film and later present to us. He actually lives through all these moments, and we are allowed to witness them, which makes this film a rather intimate experience.

It may sound silly, but another great thing about this movie is that it's not just about Antarctica. Though it does share with us the amazing beauty of its pristine nature, it doesn't sell Antarctica as the main and only star. After all, this huge frozen world can be equally beautiful and depressing. Instead, we look at this continent and the life that managed to bind itself to it through the eyes of the fellow workers, people who spent months, or even years, there doing their job and whose impression of Antarctica and the way humans interact with it is the most honest and true.

It's probably not very groundbreaking, but illustrating life in Antarctica with simple people's lives and experiences makes this movie really heartfelt. It is a documentaty, but you invest yourself emotionally into it, you care about the people shown in it, follow their stories, connect to their problems, feelings and dreams. This removes restraints between you and the objects shown in the movie, making you more than just an impassive spectator, almost like a friend to those people. You do not simply consume facts or imagery, as the so-so documentaries offer you to do, you actually live through them.

Maybe i'm fooling myself, but 'Antarctica: A Year on Ice' gave me a bit of a feeling of actually spending a year there. And what it is if not a sign that the film did its job well?

Antarctica: What Could Have Been

[petricor · 7/10 · 19 April 2015]

Antarctica. Perhaps it is a place more unknown to us on the big screen than the likes of our moon or Mars. It is intriguing to have a relatively untouched frontier still left on our planet. I tuned into Antarctica: A Year on Ice to quench my curiosity on the matter, and despite the wondrous offerings, was left feeling only slightly satiated.

Anthony Powell gives us a glimpse into what it's like living at a station in Antarctica, but strangely, it's more tell than show. What I mean by that is instead of interviewing people and them giving obvious answers (they're going to feel isolated and they'll get to know each other pretty well pretty quick, who would have thought? totally shocking), which got boring pretty fast, it would have been more interesting to show what a typical day was like. Does the station only have one dining area? What's on the menu? Do they get vitamin supplements considering they've noticed how sickly pale they've become during the winter months? Is there an exercise facility? They get paid in cash? How do they cope with the perpetual daytime or nighttime? Or freezing temperatures? Negative 50 is no laughing matter. I won't ever know, because what's focused on are a bunch of clichéd information you probably already know or could easily look up on wikipedia.

I also found it ironic how people kept saying the people that came there to work were "odd," and yet all of them seemed to complain of lack of sunlight, cold temperatures, and the monotony. Oh dear, they've all turned a ghastly shade of pasty white. Oh the horror! I thought the sunlight bouncing off the snow would intensify and give them a beachy sun glow. Actually, if they were really that odd, they wouldn't have complained like any other "normal" person, but what do I know? Okay, I promise to stop with the sarcasm now, because I have to give credit where credit is due and that's with the photography. Some of the time-lapse sequences are absolutely amazing. They border on repetitive near the end, but they alone are worth watching this documentary for. So, if you'd like a glimpse into the lives of Antarctica folks, you'd probably do better by researching the topic yourself or waiting for a better documentary to come along, but for now, this will have to do.

Anarctica: A Year On Ice

[jcolyer1229 · 9/10 · 22 February 2015]

This film by Anthony Powell shows us what it is like to spend a year in Anarctica. The winters are killer! The temperature goes to -40 degrees and winds blow at 100 mph. The sun disappears for 4 months at McMurdo Station. This film is not about scientists. It is about the people who work at the base and keep it functional. We get inside their heads. There are folks who fell in love with the place and can't seem to get enough of it. There are others who wonder if they did the right thing by coming here. I actually found myself wanting to spend some time in Anarctica even while knowing it will never happen. The stars of the southern sky are compelling and, of course, everybody loves penguins!

Beautiful scenery but the people leave a lot more to be desired

[reviews1958 · 4/10 · 22 May 2020]

I so agree with IMDB user "fedore8" and their review of this quasi-docu. The cinematography is phenomenal. However the use of time lapse in so many places was a turn off. Hippie girl who seems to know it all about what peace should be and how the earth is being ruined by people yet she takes no issue with fossil fuel keeping her rear end warm so she can pontificate. She's not adorable. There's a reason she gets along so far away from others in the real world. I'm more then sure this is her only sorority that she was allowed to join as the rest of us in the human race have said to her "move along, we're sick of listening to you". I half expected her to show her hobby as knitting pink stocking hats with two pointy ears...if you catch my drift. With the whining of so many of them you'd never know they, themselves, signed up for this gig. They weren't forced to go, nor forced to stay for any longer then what they signed up for. "No one gets to stay here indefinitely.". Well, what a great observation. I know it'll come as a huge shock to him that none of us get to stay anywhere indefinitely. We all die. This is the same wisdom spiller of the clouds and the obliteration of the O-Zone. Oh my gosh, if only we could send Al Gore here. Forever. We'd all be a lot better off and they'd have their ManBearPig to worship. (But not indefinitely because, we all die). Just like they let the seal do because they "aren't allowed to interfere with nature". They've already interfered by being there in the first place. I'd lay some serious money they wouldn't have taken the seal in because it would poopy, it would be stinky, and they would have to think of someone or something other then themselves. There isn't one single thing to be garnered from this so called documentary. Oh sorry, there is and that is I'd never want to live anywhere near these whiners.

So Interesting that you forgot about imperfections...

[UmpahpahBg · 9/10 · 3 November 2015]

A documentary made through the lenses of Anthony Powell, photographer who spent many years in Antarctica lead you to the incredible journey to the world we really don't know much. The author describe just a portion of this amazing place over one year of time, combining short interviews, wonderful time lapse photography and just a glimpses of ordinary life of the small population that works on Antarctica. The movie opened many fascinating phenomena, from the mighty storms and winds, cold, 4 months in constant daylight and than darkness and the ways people adapts to those conditions, (T3 Syndrome, for example) which can really be a separate topics for more than one documentary.

Although the movie is not perfect, by my opinion, as it lack some inside to the geography of the place and at least some facts about the conditions there, it basically opened many more questions form me. This movie and its amazing topic with conditions where it was filmed basically don't give you the space to moan about imperfection that surely exists. Instead, it make you wondering about all what is seen, with a feeling that you would like to see much more.

A visual marvel

[winstonnc · 8/10 · 31 August 2015]

Powell's time-lapse cinematography, which seems to take up about half the running time, is astonishing - eerie, hypnotic and beautiful. This is a world very few will ever know firsthand - or want to - but Powell certainly reveals its beauties. The film is meant to be a chronicle, and there is no narrative per se. The last third of the film drags a bit here and there and some of the interviews get a tad repetitive. Those who like this will find Werner Herzog's "Encounters at the End of the World" an interesting contrast. Werner Herzog's focus is less on the place but the filmmaker's fascination with the people who go Antartica and their reasons for wanting to be there.

What could have made this movie perfect....

[A_Different_Drummer · 8/10 · 20 April 2015]

As it sits, right out of the box, this is a treat.

Documentaries are best when they project the passion of their creator and here we have a gentleman with infinite experience of living on the continent, a gentleman who even took the time and trouble to make his own camera equipment (that would work in the cold) and set out to capture the "experience" for those will never get it first hand.

Which is most of us.

Making heavy use of voice over (as opposed to head and shoulders interviews) this is a fun ride.

I can tell what would have made it perfect.

Since this is fundamentally a story about cold (people yes,landscape yes, but cold mainly) I would have loved to see a digital readout over every shot showing current temperature.

For example, when "summer" ends and the last plane is leaving, I saw people without outerware, dressed casual standing outside. I kept thinking, what was the temperature? In the next shot sequence a winter storm has set in which looks like it could freeze thoughts. What was the temperature then? Just a thought. Good movie. Recommended.

Great place to find your Humanity

[nelsonmarquez1967 · 9/10 · 9 October 2013]

After watching Antarctica: A Year on Ice, you'll run out of superlatives to describe the experience, I still have a hard time explaining my experience over there due that people that have not been there can't really get it. But this Movie will give you a glimpse of the experience one have or will have if you get to be there.

But really How do you share your thoughts about a place which defies description? a place vital to our planet, but which the vast majority will never go there.

Why The title? After a few Combat tours one does lose some Humanity but working in Antarctica it help me deal wit the war demons. It was my experience but each person is different

Eventually I may go back wit my wife :D

An amazing work of art

[oblvon · 10/10 · 4 November 2017]

This is a beautifully filmed, amazing work of craftsmanship. If I ever meet someone that doesn't find this fascinating and involving, I don't think I'd want to be their friend.

I'm sure the creator has glossed over a lot of the negative aspects of life in Antarctica: Scant showers, little fresh food, inevitable interpersonal conflicts, and just the doldrums of being cooped up for months, among other things.

But upon seeing this, especially the gorgeous long nighttime time lapse shots of the skies and stars, and the wonderful, untainted pure landscapes, I actually started searching on how to sign up. True, I am one of those weird souls that likes fall and winter probably best. If I was a bit younger and had less ties, I might give it a go. If NASA ever seriously looks for people for a Mars colony, they should ask some of these understated, competent, calm old souls if they'd be interested in signing up.

I am not the most environmentally conscious person. Sure, I recycle and try not to waste too much, but the thought that mankind might someday spoil this pristine area, one of the last on Earth, and one of the only places no war has ever been fought makes me slightly ill.

I can't thank the people involved in this enough for adding a bit of beauty to the world or at least bringing it to mainstream attention. I hope there never will be any reality shows filmed there like the ones that have invaded Alaska, though if there were, I would find it hard to not watch them.

He films a starving baby seal but declines to help it

[210west · 14 January 2023]

As someone with a longtime interest in polar exploration, I found this documentary enjoyable but not particularly special. I got halfway through, up to the point where Powell films a young seal, obviously lost and plaintively crying, crawling around by the base in apparent confusion. Presumably it has wandered far off course and is doomed to starve to death. Powell primly informs us that the rules forbid interfering with wildlife, then immediately loses interest and switches to a crew member complaining about the difficulty of keeping up with his family via email.

I don't know the circumstances, and I don't know precisely what small measures might have been taken to aid the stricken animal (offering it some food? Carrying it to the water? Putting it out of its misery?), but when it comes to this sort of decision -- providing some small humanitarian aid versus adhering to some idealized principle of "scientific detachment" (in the midst of a settlement constructed by humans) -- I think his refusal to help is needlessly cruel.

Promotional Video

[sjohnson0387127 · 1/10 · 10 June 2020]

The cinematography was good, and the time-lapse was beautifully done. However, I quit watching this "promotional video for Antarctica" when he said, "It's heartbreaking to see the wildlife in distress, but we're not allowed to help. We just have to let nature takes its course." oh, the humanity! If we as humans will not step up to be stewards of our fellow creatures - who will!? Nature itself - that we're invading and destroying!?

I will not consciously recommend watching this "promotional video for Antarctica." It had the connotation of - 'Come on down! Let's continue to invade and take over!'

AMAZING

[bmiller59 · 10/10 · 2 September 2020]

I didn't want to rate this with a number,...i.e. a grade, but ultimately I was compelled to off set those who deemed a 1 to 3 as appropriate. A rating doesn't do justice to this documentary...either good or bad.

Until I saw this, I never even thought about life and living at Antarctica. So many details of living at Antarctica are discussed and illustrated. It opened up so many questions as to why someone puts themselves through the winter there, but all I can say is they are crazy but I have the utmost respect for them.

To those who criticized this documentary for all the time lapse...come on. There was so much more to enjoy and take in.

I enjoyed this so much I watched it twice.

BRAVO

An utter delight

[markrussell-88570 · 9/10 · 30 October 2019]

Visually stunning and charming film/ documentary, I found myself pondering..... How do I get to spend a year there. Highly recommended.... Some fantastic camera work. I only wish it could have been a little longer with a little more in depth look at the trials and tribulations.... That's no criticism... Simply that I enjoyed the film so much!

Glorified home movie

[lor_ · 2 May 2017]

The Anthony Powell who made this documentary is not one of the famous artists by that name, not the great costume designer nor the author of the classic novels "Dance to the Music of Time". He's just another member of this generation's "me generation" followup, one of the millions of believers that the most trivial "human" story is intrinsically interesting. This pointless feature is not, it's just dull footage.

As a kid living in Cleveland I enjoyed watching our local TV series Jim Doney's "Adventure Road", in which guests would narrate silent films they shot on world travels, just like the travelogue documentaries that still played as movies in film houses of the day. They provided an eye on the outside world, uneventful slices of life or distant places, pointless but handy time-killers.

Powell tells us this took him 10 years to make and he fails to bring to the project an offbeat or even original point-of-view (what our greatest contemporary documentarist Werner Herzog always tries to do), just giving a banal slice of life of folks who choose to live out the long, dark winter of living on the Antarctic continent. No sense of adventure or even danger/dramatics intrudes on the calm, tedious progression of scenes. In common with fiction cinema there is a story credit, but no actual story.

I have always felt that documentaries need to be taken off their pedestal and judged by the same (or at least roughly analogous) parameters as fiction features, since the illusion and pretense of objectivity is a myth. Whether fact or fiction the filmmaker puts his or her personal stamp on what the feature is trying to say, and most docs are scripted, either beforehand or in post-production.

In the wake of the revolutionary Godfrey Reggio films like "Koyaanisqatsi", a philosophical bent has permeated many docs, but this one is frankly stupid - the final line during the film proper is by a young misogynist who compares the "square world" (that means us, in the audience) to cattle -not the Hitchcockian view of those necessary evils, his actors, but rather as the guy voices over "just moving from place to place". At this point, Powell ends the show not with a striking vista of the Antarctic continent's steely beauty, but rather another of many cornball time-lapse shots of a frenetic metropolis at night, the sort of image that typifies "Koyaanisqatsi". Yes, we poor humans are in a rut, scurrying around in a pointless existence. No more pointless than the self-shut-ins who revel in living out the endless night of Antarctic winter in lonely fashion, even complaining (as we see in the film underlined) when new folk arrive sporting dreaded sun tans yet, to invade their privacy and solitude.

With such dull stuff to watch my mind wandered and I thought of a movie (fiction for now but someday documentary in nature) about life in an expatriate Earth colony on Mars or perhaps a moon of Jupiter, as presented by some earnest fellow like Powell. If it was a sci-fi entertainment there would be drama and an inevitable existential crisis threatening the colony with extinction, or even bug-eyed monsters attacking. But in "Antartica" nothing happens, and because it is cloaked in the form of a documentary it passes the low-low bar as quasi- entertainment or educational content. Even the most minimalist of fiction directors (think of Lonergan and the stupid "award-winning" Manchester by the Sea) would have trouble getting away with that.

Amazing Visuals, A Human Point of View

[jeselleamed · 10/10 · 4 December 2020]

The environmental message within this documentary is more so about showing what life is like in Antarctica- what it is like to work there, what it is like to live there, what it looks like, and what takes place there. In the beginning of the film, there is a woman who says, "We have not had the opportunity to mess it up very much yet (referring to the continent)." As she said that, it got me thinking of just how right she was about her statement. The beauty and preciousness of Antarctica did not have to be verbally communicated. The cinematography of the film- showing the scenery and landscapes, was more than enough.

Beautiful

[perksjed · 10/10 · 3 December 2020]

I was so amazed by the beauty of everything up above us. Sun Moon Stars Northern lights