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Morgan Freeman Narrates Jacquet's Documentary of Life in Antarctica
Luc Jacquet's French documentary March of the Penguins records a year in the life of a penguin colony in Antarctica. The struggle for life in one of the world's harshest climates begins every March, when the penguins must march to their breeding ground, a long journey on solid ice to a spot where their newborns will be safe. They must brave starvations [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], predation, freezing temperatures, and blowing gales.
But the travails of being a penguin in Antarctica are far from over. Each time one of the parents tries to forage for food, they must risk being eaten themselves. The newborns must learn to walk and find their way in the colony. Somehow, amid the throngs of penguins, a mother can find her own through his unique sounds. Each new storm means death for some of the new babies [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], with howling winds turning the temperature suddenly much colder and the climate much harsher. Those who do not survive are found by a bereft mother [link widoczny dla zalogowanych], who may try to steal another chick. Her mournful sounds ring through the frigid air. It is only through the banding together of the colony that any survive at all.
Mother and chick grow strong bonds almost immediately, and the bond grows stronger over time. The newborns are kept in the center of the colony in order to prevent them from wandering off, thus teaching them to seek warmth from other colony members. Witnessing the tiny chicks left alone for the first time and appearing so vulnerable, the fragile hold on life that the colony has is apparent. When fathers return, fully fed once again, they circle the newborn flock until they find their own chick, and the chick will then be fed.
A stark film that slowly follows the life cycle of the penguins, this film requires patience to appreciate the lives it reveals. A memorable film with beautiful scenery, but with a slow and gentle pace. No one who watches the penguins struggle will think of them quite the same again. Not for the antsy.
Academy Award, Best Documentary, 2005
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The beautiful masculine voice of Morgan Freeman is the background sound in this American version; the French version has actors voicing over the penguins, giving the film an entirely different feel. Watching a long procession of creatures, so lithe and graceful in the water, lumbering and waddling slowly and determinedly along the 62 mile trek from feeding ground to breeding ground from breeding ground to feeding ground, it is difficult to imagine a more cumbersome task.
Precarious Existence for the Animals Dependent on Ice
Yet every year, the entire colony makes the trek. At one time during the year, many of the males lose half their weight, awaiting food from the mother, unable to leave for fear of causing the death of the newborn egg they nestle between their feet. If one of the mother penguins does not return, it means certain death for the newborn, as the male must eventually abandon the egg or face death himself. For the lucky survivors, the females get to witness their newborn emerged from the egg, and the entire family is reunited.