March of the Penguins - Palm Beach Post movie review

'March of the Penguins': A nature tale full of suspense

By HAP ERSTEIN
Palm Beach Post

In the same way that some stars suddenly become hot, one creature has emerged as a major presence in the movies this summer — the lowly penguin.

First this pint-sized, winged waddler stole the animated feature Madagascar away from assorted lions, zebras, giraffes and hippos. Now it gets its own film, a fascinating, first-rate nature documentary prosaically titled March of the Penguins.

Warner Independent Pictures

'March of the Penguins'

The verdict: Stunning shots of mysterious penguin life cycle, deftly narrated by Morgan Freeman.

Director: Luc Jacquet
Narrator: Morgan Freeman
Run time: 84 minutes
Release date: June 24, 2005
Rating: G
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If ever there were an argument for genetics, it is these Emperor penguins, which are hard-wired to migrate annually, single-file, for miles in their native Antarctica to their ancestral breeding grounds. There they mate, produce an egg, guard it against the fierce cold, hatch it and teach their young the secrets of survival before starting all over again.

It is a story fraught with drama, the very sight of these fuzzy, formalwear-clad, flightless birds is comic and there is even a little penguin sex — all in a G-rated 80 minutes.

As filmed by Frenchman Luc Jacquet and narrated by Morgan Freeman — with an even greater sense of awe than in War of the Worlds — this becomes a tale of great sacrifice and suspense. Once the female penguin lays her egg, she carefully transfers it to the male, before marching back to the sea in search of food for the future offspring. Meanwhile, the dutiful male penguin all but starves as he sits immobile, keeping the egg warm, waiting for her return.

Temperatures dip below minus 70 degrees, winds are said to exceed 100 mph, and still the male penguin sits guarding his child-to-be. As the mother nears, her mate emits a homing signal, a cacophonous shriek and miraculously — well, penguins do mostly look identical — they reunite and the father later ushers the tot out to the sea.

All of this is captured in stunning close-up by first-time director Jacquet and his crew, who were apparently just accepted by the trusting penguins. (Stay for the post-credits glimpses of the photography process to appreciate what the filmmakers went through to get this amazing footage.)

The screenplay by Jordan Roberts (Around the Bend) humanizes the penguins for maximum audience identification. It talks of love, of the bravery of these tiny creatures and the importance of the family unit. Chances are that is overstating the case, though the sense of parental responsibility is evident and the penguins do remain monogamous, at least for one season. March of the Penguins makes no attempt to explain the wonder of what these little birds go through, but merely stands back out of the way and observes them.

The film it most brings to mind is the Oscar-nominated Winged Migration, which explored similar life cycle mysteries with uncanny aerial photography. Those agog at that feature film are likely to react the same way to these penguins.

Be prepared to be amazed, or simply amused as they scoot through the icy terrain, sliding about on their stomachs.