Nankyoku monogatari (1983)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Koreyoshi Kurahara

Writers:

Toshirô Ishidô (writer)
Koreyoshi Kurahara (writer)

Release Date:

23 July 1983 (Japan)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Drama

Plot:

Two Japanese scientists, Ushioda and Ochi, develop a bond with their sled dogs while on an expedition in Antarctica...

Plot Keywords:

Dog | Japanese | Expedition | Antarctic | Animal

Awards:

3 wins & 5 nominations

Cast

Ken Takakura	...	Ushioda
Tsunehiko Watase	...	Ochi
Eiji Okada	...	Ozawa Taicho
Masako Natsume	...	Ozawa Keiko
Keiko Oginome	...	Shimura Asako
Takeshi Kusaka	...	Morishima Kyoju
Shigeru Kôyama	...	Horigome Taicho
Sô Yamamura	...	Iwakiri Sencho
Jun Eto	...	Tokumitsu Taiin
Koichi Sato	...	Toda Taicho
Shin Kishida	...	Kissaten Master
Takeshi Ôbayashi	...	Nonomiya Taicho
Shinji Kanai	...	Ozaki Taicho
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Charles Adams	...	Captain of Ship 'Burton'
Hatsunori Hasegawa	...	Tsuruta taiin
Susan Napier	...	Catherine

Also Known As:

Antarctica (Japan) (subtitle) (USA)

Runtime:

143 min | USA:112 min | USA:143 min (1985 reissue)

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color (Fujicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:G | USA:G

Company:

Fuji Television Network

Movie Connections:

Version of Eight Below (2006)

White Wilderness

**SPOILERS*** True story that took place during the Geographical year 1957-58, in the freezing ice and snow of Anarctica, by a Japanese expedition team on their journey to the Antarctic Mount. Batnnutan and back;a trek of some 500 miles.

Leaving Showa Base with a team of 16 tough Sakhalin sled dogs the three man expedition of geologist Ushioda meteorologist Ochi and Dr. Ozawa had no trouble reaching their main objective, Mount. Batnnutan. On the way back they ran into heavy snows and fog that caused them to go snow-blind and get lost. Helpless with no way of getting back to their home base the men unleashed two of their sled dogs, Taro & Jiro, who reached Showa Base and brought back a rescue party to save both the three men and 15 sled dogs.

At the base it's reported that the weather had gotten so severe that they would have to abort the expedition and return back to their icebreaker, the Soya, that would take them back home to Japan. Unable to bring them along the men were forced to leave the dogs, including the two who rescued them Taro & Jiro, at the now deserted Showa Base and; thus leave them to the bitterly cold Antarctica winter that was just starting to set in.

Heartwarming and true story of men and dogs and how left on their own the sled dogs, answering the call of the wild, formed a wolf-like pack that for over a year survived everything that the inhospitable Antarctic winter had to offer them; a frozen and agonizing death.

Beautifully photographed with incredible wide angle shots that showed the audience how vast and eerie the Antarctic really is. We see the dogs roaming around like a bunch of dark and unrecognizable black specks in the limitless white background. "Antarctica" also has a number of fascinating views of the Southern Lights, the Borealis Australis, as they illuminate and light up the cold and dark Antarctic winter night.

By the time the winter was over ,in September 1958, the Antarctic spring set in with the ice packs breaking apart and causing a number of the surviving sled dogs to fall into the open waters where they drowned. Back home in Japan both Ushida and Ochi were heart sick over leaving the dogs behind and a year. later going on another Antarctic expedition mostly to find and take back the frozen bodies of the sled dogs, that were like members of their family. The two never expected to find out just how wrong they were in underestimating their courageous and unconquerable canine friends.

Not exactly a "Lassie Come Home" type of movie the film "Antartica" shows how deep the bind is between man and his best friend and companion the dog and it will really touch you when at the end of the movie. With all hope gone, for the dogs left behind, like a winter mirage Taro and Jiro materialized out of the snow to the shock and delight, to the point of tears, of those who so sadly were forced to leave them behind and to face certain death.