Encounters at the End of the World

Tonight I saw the documentary Encounters at the End of the World.

All of the best elements that make up a Werner Herzog film are here—the humorous, yet seriously informative narrative; the long shots of nothing, which force you to believe they're something; and the eccentric pieces of a story that somehow come together without form.

This time the filmmaker takes us on his journey to Antarctica, where he studies the scientists that are studying the continent. Instead of focusing on the elements they're obsessed with (although we see them), his approach is to zero in on the freaks that the frigid temperatures attract. And let them tell their own stories.

What results is Errol Morris-like talking head masterpieces spliced in with breathtaking underwater shots of a world most of us will never dare to explore. And it's hard to take your eyes off of it.

One shot will demonstrate how dangerous the dives are (they go without tether, which means their instinct has to guide them back since compasses don't work that low), then another will feature a penguin who takes his own journey Into the Wild, a la Chris McCandless, which the humans realize will not turn out well.

It's all told with a clever, sarcastic-but-sincere delivery that leaves the audience wishing they were along for the ride—just so long as they don't have to go through any of that silly bucket-head training.

Note: the director dedicated this film to Roger Ebert, who was so touched by the gesture, he wrote him a letter of appreciation. To read it, click here.

Rescue Dawn

Today I saw Rescue Dawn, starring Christian Bale and Steve Zahn.

I hate to say it, but I'm so immune to war movies these days, this one barely meant more than the last handful I saw.

And I'm not implying it was a bad movie—it wasn't—but I'm so tired of the story and the torture and the horror and the injustice that I don't feel like watching it anymore.

This particular film tells the tale of Deiter (Bale), an American pilot who goes down in Laos and becomes imprisoned with others who have been there for years by the time he arrives (and he gets there 'before' the war starts). He concocts a successful escape plan, executes it (along with some prison guards) and finds himself wandering the jungle with one of his fellow prisoners, Duane (Zahn).

The best part of this movie is the friendship that develops between these two.

Of course we expect that Deiter will survive, and when he does, his rescue is nothing short of inspiring, but we're still left with flashbacks of the carnage left behind, on both sides of the conflict.

Herzog made a good, solid movie—I just wish he'd have chosen a less-popular topic.