Antarctica: A Year on Ice

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.