IN THE HARSHEST PLACE ON EARTH, LOVE FINDS A WAY.
Co-produced by the National Geographic Society, this documentary examines up close a year in the lives of a group of emperor penguins in Antarctica. We see them battle fierce winter storms and being hunted by predators but also the process of finding a partner (and what happens to those who don’t) as well as the challenge of raising a family in this forbidding climate. There is brutality at times, but the filmmakers don’t dwell on it, which makes this family-friendly viewing. That’s part of its success, as well as the American distributor’s decision to ditch two regrettable features of this original French version – the often silly music and the use of “voices” for the penguins, which were replaced with a new score and Morgan Freeman’s narration.
2005-France. 80 min. Color. Directed by Luc Jacquet.
Trivia: Original title: La marche de l’empereur. Followed by March of the Penguins 2: The Call (2017).
Oscar: Best Documentary Feature.
