March of the Penguins

Written and published by Carmen Aguirre

In the film March of the Penguins directed by Luc Jaquet, a group of Penguins are followed for over a year as they trek across Antarctica on an annual journey.  During the year they experience birth and death, mating and loving, and of course comedy with some tragedy lodged in between. While many people think of penguins as birds who look like they've been decked out in tuxedos, the truth is they're among the strongest and most resilient creatures in the animal kingdom. And they have to be -- each year, the emperor penguins of Antarctica travel through the most punishing environment on Earth to their nesting grounds, and after the females lay their eggs, the males keep them warm while their mates walk 70 miles back to the sea to fatten themselves with fish for them and their young.

The film shows the highs and Lows, that a penguin has to live through and all the obstacles they must overcome together as a flock to survive.  The Documentary uses nature as its talent utilizing only penguins and their natural habitat as the actors and actresses. Filmmaker, Jaquet, spent over a year braving the frigid temperatures of the South Pole to film this annual ritual of the penguins, and March of the Penguins documents their brave struggle to survive, as well as the close emotional bonds between the penguin families. March of the Penguins was first screened in France as La Marche de l'Empereur, with a handful of French actors providing a voice-over in which they expressed the "thoughts" of the penguins; for the American edition, Morgan Freeman was brought in to deliver a more straightforward narration.

 This also allows an insight into the true emotion of the creatures during the highs and lows of the year, with no human interaction.  Each penguin has a different personality, some tender others fierce and not to mention the few odd balls in the group. The clashing of them is what gives the film its intriguing storyline filled with love, fights and plenty of comedy. 

The instrumental pieces performed by Alex Wurman throughout the documentary were a nice addition, they did nothing but complement the scenery and raise the emotion the penguins had already created.  My favorite scene during the film was when the baby birds took their first steps after thousands of paces atop their mother’s feet.  The music was exciting and fresh helping make a positive and emotional moment between the mother and her newborn baby.  Another scene that helped add to the documentaries story line was the scene when the penguins chose their mates.  The love bond between them creates a warm scene, which acts as a foreshadowing to the birth of the baby chicks.

This movie is lushly filmed to the point of being overwhelming with its visible imagery of the dramatically colorful subjects contrasted with the bleakness of the Antarctic landscape. You wonder how the photographers were able to film what they did until you come to the realization that these penguins do not know Man as a predator and are equally curious about this new intruder into their frigid world.

As fascinating as the story is, the cinematography is nothing short of amazing. Laurent Chalet and Jérome Maison bring this story to exceptionally vivid life with their cinematography. They deserve great credit for their outstanding views deep into the social fabric of this particular penguin colony.

The southern lights that radiate in the sky at night, and the snowy winds that whip through the waddle of penguins that huddle together, show both the harsh and mellowness of the area.  The close ups of the animals bring out the beauty of their feathers and the uniqueness of their species as well as their emotion during the entire film.  The water images were not only capturing different perspectives but also revealing the accomplishment and reward the penguins felt. 

You would hardly guess from the subject matter that this movie just about has it all in a compelling story about the Emperor Penguins of Antarctica. Difficult journeys are made and missed. Romances are initiated and consummated with tender displays of affection. And children, those even more lovable little chicks, are hatched and cared for. Life is lived on the waddle or on the slide, for true "flight" for a penguin is only possible underwater.

Through it all these noble birds wage a never ending fight for survival in a setting that is so bleak and so forbidding that no other animal on earth has the courage or the ability to live where these lovable feathered beauties do. Their very survival is dependent upon the entire community huddling together for warmth during the many long dark nights of winter.

In the end my thoughts are you should watch this documentary, the love that the director, Jacquet, has for these animals shines through on the screen which is enough to entrance just about everybody.