March of the Penguins (2005)

March of the Penguins is the latest independent film phenomenon, garnering much attention, both critically from renowned reviewers and financially at the box office. But I still wondered how the life cycle of a penguin, a seemingly mundane story, could possibly be as good as the hype would lead one to believe.

 

Popcorn

71%

The simple story traces a year in the life of emperor penguins dwelling near the South Pole. Most people know of penguins but do not know much about them. Thus the intrigue of the movie, learning about these unknown creatures. While the sequence of events is mildly engaging because of the extreme measures these birds take to reproduce, that alone is not enough to garner interest for the film's full ninety minutes, but the quirky physical actions of the penguins do merit attention, admittedly. Let's face it: penguins are weird.  Impressive, but weird. And it is their odd natural movements that make the movie worth watching; little things like a bird stumbling into a snowbank, bumping into a compadre, propelling itself out of the water, or the adorable youngsters doing pretty much anything. That comprises the majority of the "action" in the film and it is enough to make you chuckle, as though you were watching a child curiously toddle around a park. That's the universal appeal. Penguins are just kind of cute, most would say.  Words are hardly necessary when watching them and the film often goes without narration for a time.

 

Smarts

51%

The sole human voice we do get to hear from time to time (at least in the English speaking version) is Morgan Freeman, who again inimitably delivers a film's narration, and his sympathetic grandfatherly tone nearly supercedes the script that too often oozes smarminess, although his natural gravitas may actually be a detriment as well, enhancing the words that over-anthropomorphize the penguins. They are just birds, clearly not equal beings, too frequently treated as peers with similar feelings like love, hope, and pain. In the most blatant example, while speaking of the dramatic emotions that the birds feel when tragedy strikes, the over-the-top narration simultaneously generates an unusual combination of sympathy and eye-rolling. Many critics have praised the movie for its powerful emotion, but are moviegoers so starved for a decent story that simple nature is to be considered extraordinary? I think not. The effort is appreciated, perhaps thought necessary for the big screen, but ultimately too much.

The one element that could have salvaged March of the Penguins was the cinematography, which frankly should have been better. The icy natural beauty of Antarctica begs for spectacular scene-setting shots, something along the lines of anothery blustery documentary, Touching the Void, or 2002's Insomnia, but nothing special is present here. Maybe that was an intentional decision by the filmmakers to avoid distracting from the basic story, but contrasting the soaring surroundings with the literally down-to-earth penguins would have made the movie all the more fantastic on the expanded widescreen. Instead the filmmakers stick with unexciting shots highlighted only by the handful of close-ups that aren't too tight. Additionally several shots are less than crystal clear, perhaps hazy due to the conditions. But they are mildly distracting regardless, as are a few unusual confusing angles and some blatant cheating in the editing room, in which shots of seals were intercut with penguins to give the impression they were simultaneously sharing the same water. Things like this can be overlooked in bigger pictures, but when a movie is as simple as this one, the sometimes smaller components stand out and divert attention when they are subpar, particularly when they could have elevated the movie to greater heights.

 

Final

March of the Penguins leaves one wondering why it was transformed to the big screen, because the movie is little more than a slightly above par National Geographic special. Freeman's narration is a pleasant cinematic touch, but nothing else except the unctuous script distinguishes this from things seen before on television, despite the inherently amusing idiosyncrasies of penguins. Like its subject, March of the Penguins has wings, but never flies, resulting in a decent but not spectacular movie, far from a must-see.