This movie can be read as too achingly cute, too pushily touching and too mundanely poignant, but hey, those birds damn well deserve them. They walk (more like waddle) for hundreds of miles in total, starve themselves for months, and oh yeah, have to endure extreme subzero temperature and a few more with 100-mile-speed wind, all that with unbelievable grace, not too mention poise (that's why they wear tuxes) and all that for the sake of procreation.
The movie starts with stunning helicopter shots of antarctic glaciers (some the shots are worthy of an exhibition at a Chelsea gallery) and in the sun-lurked distance 'tis seen dark figures strutting across the white ice, and lo they are emperor penguins shooting from an ice-hole, from that on we are taken for a journey of endurance and survival, with moments of humor and joy here and there, but one thing this movie doesn't lack is elegance.
Just like a tradition of complex animal behavior, this one is bound to be inspiring for us humans and so much so, I was kind of embarrassed for our species because of their superior adaptation and continued existence. I was moved when the penguin march leader decided that he was no longer apt to be a leader, he just stopped and another penguin replace his position. It was unnervingly stirring when the group huddle during a freak snow storm, that and more.
The movie is restrained right before it starts to develop tyrptophan (unlike the turkeys in "winged migration") and for some scenes, to protect the G rating. But this sublime retreat from logical narrative of men offer even more enlightened and transcendent view that life, no matter how harsh the situation might be, is never just about humdrum struggle for survival or just to fulfill purpose, but for these penguins, a passionate, selfless caring, reliant, and an understanding struggle. Even knowing that they're going to face the same cruel fate over and over and over again. The kingdom of these emperors will be standing for some time, I bet.
The movie starts with stunning helicopter shots of antarctic glaciers (some the shots are worthy of an exhibition at a Chelsea gallery) and in the sun-lurked distance 'tis seen dark figures strutting across the white ice, and lo they are emperor penguins shooting from an ice-hole, from that on we are taken for a journey of endurance and survival, with moments of humor and joy here and there, but one thing this movie doesn't lack is elegance.
Just like a tradition of complex animal behavior, this one is bound to be inspiring for us humans and so much so, I was kind of embarrassed for our species because of their superior adaptation and continued existence. I was moved when the penguin march leader decided that he was no longer apt to be a leader, he just stopped and another penguin replace his position. It was unnervingly stirring when the group huddle during a freak snow storm, that and more.
The movie is restrained right before it starts to develop tyrptophan (unlike the turkeys in "winged migration") and for some scenes, to protect the G rating. But this sublime retreat from logical narrative of men offer even more enlightened and transcendent view that life, no matter how harsh the situation might be, is never just about humdrum struggle for survival or just to fulfill purpose, but for these penguins, a passionate, selfless caring, reliant, and an understanding struggle. Even knowing that they're going to face the same cruel fate over and over and over again. The kingdom of these emperors will be standing for some time, I bet.