The journey depicted in a film like Antarctic Voyage is very, very exciting. Dr. Samantha Monier, a biologist with an admirable drive, goes against conventional channels and submits herself to a journey that will ultimately take her to a unique place. Perhaps such a personal voyage doesn’t sound exciting to viewers, but Kevin Schreck‘s documentary makes everything more interesting.
How? Well, the film doesn’t do much to justify Monier’s trip. Instead, it takes a straight road to a very hostile territory where life found its way. Just like Monier, we are also discovering a unique site on the planet where the effect of humankind is visible but remains largely undetermined. The remote island of South Georgia is one of those places that makes you doubt whether our civilization has done enough to destroy the planet.
In the center of the film, brave researchers and scientists have stepped on the edge of the world to study a plane of life that symbolizes something theoretical: What if we were aliens to this planet? The wonder and magic of uncovering Earth’s inner layers and their residents is perfectly depicted in Schreck’s film. Monier is at the center of the film, and as much as she represents the viewers’ perspective, there are many more, and each of them shares something with us: The darkest corners of the planet are still able to host breathing organisms that are the stuff dreams are made of.
But it’s not without effort. Antarctic Voyage also candidly reflects the hardships of this lifestyle: the sacrifices scientists make and the toll it takes on them. The film is an honest representation of the cost that a trip like this has for the human souls whose sheer intention is to find out the mysteries of the planet and how life runs in a place that seems barren and deserted.
We don’t often recognize the work that’s behind the making of nature documentaries. The beautiful images and grandiose scope are more important than everything that falls behind the camera and the production. The implicit risk of making a film like Antarctic Voyage is something we need to address because sometimes it’s the only way to observe what lies beyond the horizon, a mysterious world where life has thrived and wishes to remain undiscovered.
This is truly recommended for viewers who often like to see “vertical videos” that prove the magnitude of the oceans and the creatures that live below the surface. This is the real deal, and no pretty soundtrack will compare to the sound of the aggressive surf well combined with the symphonies of humankind’s greatest composers. In other words, the use of classical music has no better use than the one given in the movie.
Film critic. Lover of all things horror. Member of the OFCS. RT Approved Critic.
