Werner Herzog at the South Pole: Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
Written: Jun 11 '08 (Updated Jun 13 '08)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Photography, music, natural sound, interviews, subject matter, intelligence, humor, pathos, strangeness... cute animals
Cons: -
The Bottom Line: One of Herzog's finest works, a wonderful, personal vision of the people, animals, ice floes, icebergs, volcanoes, and neutrinos that exist on the southernmost hemisphere of Earth.
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| trust12345's Full Review: Encounters at the End of the World |
Filmed in 2006, and only now reaching selected theaters (after warm receptions at film festivals), Encounters at the End of the World is Werner Herzog's first documentary since Grizzly Man (2005), the acclaimed portrait of a fanatical man in pursuit of harmony with bears in the wild. This latest venture also features Herzog's witty and provocative narration, and also sets its focus on the peculiar lot of people who are chasing dreams on the outskirts of civilization, in this case, the 1,000 men and women who inhabit and work in or near the McMurdo research station in Antarctica.
Early on, Herzog, who had been invited by the National Science Foundation to film in the forbidding locale, sets his film apart from the mainstream, highly anthropomorphic March of the Penguins (2005), the syrupy love letter to emperor penguins (and to humans) narrated (in its English version) by Morgan Freeman. Herzog is not going to make "another fluffy penguin" movie, and knowing him, that would of course be impossible. What he does deliver is a film of surpassing beauty, intellect, wry humor, and elegiac sadness (as he ponders the seemingly inexorable path of humans to their extinction on Earth, and the aliens who may stumble on what we leave behind.)
The documentary uses several "layers" of footage to arrive at a portrait of Antarctica and its history of explorers, ranging from old black and white reels of some of the first, doomed expeditions; earlier shots of an active volcano; Herzog's friend's footage of underwater photography; and Herzog's team's film, which includes more exploratory photography as well as the director's interviews with the colorful researchers and workers at the station. As with earlier Herzog films, the director's opinions and observations unabashedly intrude into the "objective" sphere of the documentary, making this more of a philosophical tone poem (ooh, that will scare some readers away: but don't be frightened!) or personal essay. Herzog's observations may strike some as anathema; for instance, he finds the American research headquarters unbearably banal (with its ATM machine, bowling alley, and yoga/aerobics center), and he can't wait to delve into less homogenized territory. Not having visited the place (nor likely ever to have the chance), I could only surmise from the evidence on camera that Herzog's views seem wholly reasonable, and often inspiring and thought-provoking.
This is a film that cries out to be seen on the large screen (or at the very least, a really big TV with excellent speakers). The images and sounds are dazzling in their beauty, strangeness, and awesomeness. Yes, there are some cuddly animals, but this is far more "deep" (if only for its deep sea diving photography) than your average nature film, replete with a glorious soundtrack that includes Russian and Bulgarian chanting (themselves, otherworldly), and the sounds of submerged seals that eerily resemble the electronic blips and glissandos of a synthesizer. As several people interviewed in the film put it, the Antarctic is a place where oddballs "fall off the map" and congregate, with nowhere more South to go. Herzog (a lifelong cataloguer of the oddball) is completely in his element among these people, some of whom speak with extraordinary eloquence and wisdom about the place and its ephemeral, quixotic spell. There are some cutting edge glimpses of the forefronts of scientific research (several new species are found, the elementary neutrino is discussed in spiritual terms that miraculously do not involve the New Age), and for these tidbits of information I am all the more pleased. But it is above all for the humane and idiosyncratic, wildly beautiful exploration of both Antarctica and the soul, that makes me grateful to Herzog for this marvelous film.
Recommended:
Yes
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Member: John Stone
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