March of the Penguins

Although this movie has been out for a while, I needed a break from school stuff and took the family to see it. First of all, if you haven't already heard, this movie is not for the children under 12. There isn't too much visual, but seeing some of the dead bodies may too traumatizing for some!

March of the Penguins chronicles the breeding habits of the emperor penguin. The gentle, non-flying birds endure great hardship to bring what seems to be a handful of emperor penguins into the world. The real question that I kept asking myself throughout the movie was, how did they ever discover this breeding spot. It's obvious that this the safest spot for a bird that rarely defends itself let alone it's baby and territory. Consequently, this gentle giant must endure harsh weather conditions to offset the possibility of worse predation living in more conducive surroundings.

The piece that pulls everything together is the narration from Morgan Freeman. Ever since Shawshank Redemption where we were mesmorized by his warm narrative tone, he delivers again! He helps us to appreciate the sheer magnitude of challenge that these birds go through by filling in the gaps of what we can see and what we can't.

Frankly, it amazes me to what conditions some individuals are willing to endure to document such a event. Is it for the possibility of fame or the chance to chronicle one of the most incredible natural events of our time? It's probably both, but you wouldn't catch me diving into that freezing water to film swimming penguins. I've got to give credit to Luc Jacquet and crew because they did.

Finally, I'm thankful that this story actually made it to the movie theaters. With all the TV channels available today, this great story could have been lost in obscurity. It's nice to see that there is some movie exec out there that still recognizes the value of truth and fact!