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ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF
THE WORLD
This movie was released on the tail end of that ridiculous penguin fad but you’d be a goofball to count Encounters amongst those fluff pieces. Sure, there are plenty of pretty pictures of the Antarctic landscape and the admittedly adorable wildlife, but Herzog has never been known for making high concept popcorn flicks and this film is no exception. Within the opening minutes his narration reveals him as the modern-day “eccentric” that he is, questioning why we humans ride horses while our hairier primate relatives choose not to. It’s an interesting introductory monologue that sets the scene for the rest of the surprisingly poignant picture.
The movie begins with an underwater scuba diver examining the bottom of a sheet of ice. It’s a neat picture and Herzog explains as we’re watching that it was this image that drove him to visit Antarctica in the first place. I don’t know if it was the beauty of the ice that moved him or something else he saw, but what Herzog captures at the bottom of the world isn’t just your everyday National Geographic fare.
There are a fair amount of picturesque shots of icebergs, ice fields, ice mountains, and other ice things, but the visuals of the film are also focused elsewhere; the muddy main camp, the faces of the Antarctic workers, humble living spaces, and other things that wouldn’t be immediately plopped into the “beautiful” category. This is not to say that the film is at all lacking in amazing visuals. On the contrary, I was constantly having to pick my jaw up off the ground. Look at that jellyfish up there. I was tripping out when I saw that and other things when Herzog showed us what it was like under the ice.
Part of what make Herzog movies such a treat is the audacity of his character. He’s not one to beat around the bush and his willingness to cut straight to the point is loads of fun to see in action, especially in face-to-face interviews. There’s a scene in the film where he is trying to get an introverted penguin specialist out of his shell by asking him questions about the penguins’ sexuality and their state of mind, whether they ever go insane. It was a pretty funny bit, considering the scientist had literally made penguins his life. Usually though the people he’s interviewing are “characters” themselves and don’t need much probing to get on a roll. It's these interviews that actually make up the heart of the film, in my opinion.
Encounters at the End of the World is almost exactly that. A series of chance encounters with various people at the bottom, the end, of the world. It’s a fun ride, if you can call it that. Most of the movie feels like the result of aimless wandering. Herzog does purposely take the film into “darker” territory in the closing segment though; reflecting on our temporary stay on this Earth as he cites the scientists’ belief that the story of humanity may very well be near its conclusion. It casts the entire picture in a totally different light, but it doesn’t sully the experience at all. If anything it makes you want to cherish everything you just saw even more.
ENCOUNTERS AT THE END OF
THE WORLD
This movie was released on the tail end of that ridiculous penguin fad but you’d be a goofball to count Encounters amongst those fluff pieces. Sure, there are plenty of pretty pictures of the Antarctic landscape and the admittedly adorable wildlife, but Herzog has never been known for making high concept popcorn flicks and this film is no exception. Within the opening minutes his narration reveals him as the modern-day “eccentric” that he is, questioning why we humans ride horses while our hairier primate relatives choose not to. It’s an interesting introductory monologue that sets the scene for the rest of the surprisingly poignant picture.
The movie begins with an underwater scuba diver examining the bottom of a sheet of ice. It’s a neat picture and Herzog explains as we’re watching that it was this image that drove him to visit Antarctica in the first place. I don’t know if it was the beauty of the ice that moved him or something else he saw, but what Herzog captures at the bottom of the world isn’t just your everyday National Geographic fare.
There are a fair amount of picturesque shots of icebergs, ice fields, ice mountains, and other ice things, but the visuals of the film are also focused elsewhere; the muddy main camp, the faces of the Antarctic workers, humble living spaces, and other things that wouldn’t be immediately plopped into the “beautiful” category. This is not to say that the film is at all lacking in amazing visuals. On the contrary, I was constantly having to pick my jaw up off the ground. Look at that jellyfish up there. I was tripping out when I saw that and other things when Herzog showed us what it was like under the ice.
Part of what make Herzog movies such a treat is the audacity of his character. He’s not one to beat around the bush and his willingness to cut straight to the point is loads of fun to see in action, especially in face-to-face interviews. There’s a scene in the film where he is trying to get an introverted penguin specialist out of his shell by asking him questions about the penguins’ sexuality and their state of mind, whether they ever go insane. It was a pretty funny bit, considering the scientist had literally made penguins his life. Usually though the people he’s interviewing are “characters” themselves and don’t need much probing to get on a roll. It's these interviews that actually make up the heart of the film, in my opinion.
Encounters at the End of the World is almost exactly that. A series of chance encounters with various people at the bottom, the end, of the world. It’s a fun ride, if you can call it that. Most of the movie feels like the result of aimless wandering. Herzog does purposely take the film into “darker” territory in the closing segment though; reflecting on our temporary stay on this Earth as he cites the scientists’ belief that the story of humanity may very well be near its conclusion. It casts the entire picture in a totally different light, but it doesn’t sully the experience at all. If anything it makes you want to cherish everything you just saw even more.