March of the penguins

March of the penguins, the recent film collaboration between National Geographic and Warner Brothers will be the first film in many years to prize me from my chair and force me the 100 or so mile round trip to see it as soon as it is released here in the UK. Though quite when that will be seems to be anyone's guess, having been released in the US last month and having outstripped all projected financial and attendance expectations, it's release date here is still 'to be notified'.


Everything about this film is good in my opinion, it has no gratuitous violence, no overpaid megastars, no stunts, no special effects and is the furthest thing from 'Terminator 1000' I could possibly imagine.

The cinematography is stunning, it is educational, it is endearing, heartrending and fascinating, even the website is something else.

So what is it about? Simply the annual migration of thousands and thousands of penguins across the Antarctic in preparation for mating, the text from the website explains it so much better than I ever could, the following is an excerpt:

Each winter, alone in the pitiless ice deserts of Antarctica, deep in the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, a truly remarkable journey takes place as it has done for millennia. Emperor penguins in their thousands abandon the deep blue security of their ocean home and clamber onto the frozen ice to begin their long journey into a region so bleak, so extreme, it supports no other wildlife at this time of year. In single file, the penguins march blinded by blizzards, buffeted by gale force winds. Resolute, indomitable, driven by the overpowering urge to reproduce, to assure the survival of the species.



Guided by instinct, by the otherworldly radiance of the Southern Cross, they head unerringly for their traditional breeding ground where - after a ritual courtship of intricate dances and delicate maneuvering, accompanied by a cacophony of ecstatic song - they will pair off into monogamous couples and mate.

Text © Warner Brothers

Even if the film doesn't tempt you the website is worth a look.......and if anyone actually knows the UK release date, please let me know!


Images are clickable
All images © Bonne Pioche/APC Photo by Alex Berliner