Encounters at the End of the World

January 26th, 2009

Insanity Amongst the Penguins…

By Jeff

Werner Herzog is a great documentary filmmaker who’s made dozens of documentaries and fiction films over the past five decades, in all regions of the world, but sadly never seems to receive enough recognition for the extremes he goes to for his work. His most well known film is probably the 2005 documentary Grizzly Man (chronicling the true story of Timothy Treadwell, the man who goes to Alaska ‘to live as one amongst the grizzlies’ and ends up being eaten alive).

His latest documentary, Encounters at the End of the World , brings him to the icy and barren landscape of Antarctica, where a small town/research station known as ‘McMurdo’ has been growing larger and more domesticated every year, to Herzog’s initial dismay.

Herzog’s mission has two-parts: find out what the inhabitants/researchers are doing down there and figure out for what reason they would choose to live in such a hostile, desolate environment.

All of the people interviewed are captivating and their answers intriguing and unexpected. Each person’s story is deserving of its own feature length film and Herzog amusingly narrates throughout as though he’s recapping the people he met on a recent vacation.

 One man who works as a ‘journeyman plumber’ believes the uncanny shape of his hands are proof he is descended from Aztec royalty and as a result feels drawn to McMurdo’s outcast surroundings.

 Another left his secure job as a banker in Indiana to drive a giant plow/bus all in the spirit of spontaneity and adventure.

The second part of the film sees Herzog leaving the town to visit the frigid outposts where scientists are blowing holes in the ice and studying a wide range of topics: microscopic neutrinos in the atmosphere, the weight loss effects of a mother seal’s breast milk, the discovery of ferocious new underwater species (”monsters” as one scientist describes them), radical changes taking place to Antarctica’s icebergs and volcanoes that will terrify you in a more relevant way than Al Gore’s “An Inconvenient Truth” ever could.

My favorite segment was on the insanity, homosexuality and prostitution that often occurs amongst certain ‘distorted-type’ penguins. Happy Feet this is not. There is one image in particular of an abnormal, possibly suicidal, penguin watching his peers return back to the safety of their nest, which took my breath away. He pauses, seemingly in a moment of confusion, before turning in a completely different direction and storming toward the vast highland mountains, and imminent death. The researcher studying the penguins said that miles away they picked up that very penguin and returned him back to his clan, the second you let him go he would simply start back on his path toward the mountains, as though on a pre-programmed mission from God Himself.

 In one of the few bold moves of the Academy this year, Encounters has actually been nominated for ‘Best Documentary,’ surprisingly a first for Herzog despite his many years of dedication to the craft of filmmaking. Of course, it will most likely lose to the favored Man on Wire , but gaining a nomination is a huge recognition for such a long-time outsider like Herzog, whom I’m sure was equally ecstatic and disgusted upon learning of his nomination.

 At least it will be easier for him to get funding for his upcoming projects.

 Speaking of which, next up for Herzog is a remake of Abel Ferrara’s extremely controversial Bad Lieutenant , set in New Orleans with Nicolas Cage playing the main character. Of Herzog’s decision to remake his film, Ferrara has been quoted saying: “He can die in hell.”

Herzog is certainly no stranger to danger (he was once shot in the shoulder with a rifle while giving an interview and actually finished the interview, and has been threatened before with a handgun by one of his actors)…but here’s to hoping he makes it to Oscar night.

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