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'March of the Penguins': An often-miraculous documentary of life

By ELEANOR RINGEL GILLESPIE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

"March of the Penguins" is an astonishing and irresistible documentary set in the frozen no-man's-land of Antarctica.

Except, that is, for the few courageous (and very cold) men, led by Luc Jacquet, who braved the elements to spend a year filming what could be called "Survivor: Antarctica" — albeit, with a far less annoying cast. Namely, several hundred emperor penguins whose annual trek to their ancestral breeding ground makes Napoleon's retreat from Moscow look like a stroll in the park.

Warner Independent Pictures

'March of the Penguins'

A-

The verdict: Just wonderful.

Director: Luc Jacquet
Narrator: Morgan Freeman
Run time: 84 minutes
Release date: June 24, 2005
Rating: G
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At the end of each winter, the birds emerge from the ocean and journey more than 70 miles inland, waddling and belly sliding single file across the bleak landscape like a string of little old men heading home from a late night at the pub.

Once they reach their destination, they begin a ritual that's gone on for thousands of years. In a sequence as oddly romantic, in its way, as Romeo at Juliet's balcony, they search for a mate. (Penguins are seasonally faithful). With an elegance that belies their Charlie Chaplin looks, they pair off — one couple actually forming a Disney-esque valentine with their long, slender necks.

Proving there are metrosexuals beyond Manhattan, once the females lay their single egg, the males take over the baby-to-be-sitting chores, while their mates head back to the water for a little R&R.

Enduring blizzards, starvation and sub-zero temperatures, the males huddle together for four months, until the girl penguins return, fat and happy as if they've been to a luxury spa. Together, the couples raise their newly born and endlessly adorable chicks, who look like they should be lined up on a shelf at F.A.O. Schwartz.

Morgan Freeman lends his warm, wise voice to the narration — a great improvement, reportedly, over the version that screened at Cannes in which French actors "spoke" for the penguins. Even so, some sort of anthropomorphizing of the birds is implicit, though never intrusive.

However, Jacquet doesn't skimp of the survival-of-the-fittest stuff. Eggs and baby chicks tumble out of their pouches and freeze to death. Predators abound, ranging from a leopard seal to a petrel swooping out of the sky. Older penguins often don't survive the winter. But unlike the repulsive sea-life documentary "Deep Blue," Jaquet doesn't doesn't linger pornographically on these deaths. They are dealt with in a matter of seconds, yet the point is clearly made.

The glacial magnificence and icy purity of Antarctica's gleaming landscape makes a beautiful backdrop for the film, as does the star-spangled night sky. Yet, no matter how cute, comic and cuddly the animals are, the picture emphasizes how much they are a part of nature. An emperor penguin's entire life is about the miracle of creating new life.

Quite fittingly, "March of the Penguins" is an often-miraculous movie.