Encounters

This week I watched Werner Herzog's Encounters at the End of the World.  It was a great film that unlike other documentaries set in the Arctic, focused more on those who live and work in this extreme and beautiful environment. Herzog was interested in why people would choose to live in such conditions; there was such a variety of people interviewed, all with their own reasons for choosing to move there. I find this sort of stuff really interesting because unlike moving to Europe, living in the Arctic involves making so many sacrifices, whether it's the home comforts or the removal from the rest of the world and family. Admittedly, the folks that Herzog interviewed had set up their own little community but for me it just would not be the same.

Throughout the film, there were a number of references to Scott's famous expedition and I was reminded of Herbert Ponting's 1924 film The Great White Silence.

A few years ago I went to an exhibition featuring Ponting's photographs from the expedition and was blown away by the shear beauty of the images yet also the warmth and humility with which the voyagers were portrayed. Having since seen The Great White Silence, I feel that Ponting continues many of these themes through to the film. It was a beautiful piece of work that had me gripped, laughing and crying all at once - true cinema. I saw the film with my mum who, at the time had no idea what the film was about until we were in our seats. When I told her the synopsis, she wasn't exactly enthused about sitting through two hours of a silent film set in the Arctic. However, she left the cinema just as taken by the film as I. And if it has mum's approval, then it must be good.