Wow. What an eye-opener MARCH OF THE PENGUINS was. I thought I knew everything there was to know about penguins: That they are cute and live where it's really cold. I didn't know half the story! The Emperor penguins live under the harshest conditions imaginable in the coldest place on Earth. Many years ago the weather wasn't like this but as it evolved and got terribly icy and cold and the other creatures either died or moved on the Emperor penguins chose to stay and learn how to adapt to the changes. If you think that means that the penguins are "fine" with the cold, think again. Try watching scenes where the penguins are huddled together in the teeming snow and wicked winds. They each take turns being the one in the "middle", the lucky guy who gets the most heat for a brief moment. Then it's someone else's turn and you have to stand on the outside of the circle using your body to shield the elements off your fellow penguins. That sucks! The penguins eat fish. The only way to get to the fish is to go where there are cracks or holes in the thinner ice, dive in and eat. It would make sense then to live where the ice is thin, right? Wrong. Because when it's time to lay eggs, guard them with your life, hatch them and then take care of a new chick the penguins have to find the area that has the hardest ice possible to stand on. And, yup, that just happens to be miles away from where the fish is! A lot of this "love story" focuses on how the penguins trek to their mating grounds, pick a mate, woo and mate, and then make an egg. The scenes of the penguins mating were trluy touching. A lot of nature shows show crazy, wild, beast sex. The penguins are a slow, romantic breed and watching them cuddle up together actually brought a tear to my eye! Penguin love: the most sensual love of all. Who knew?! Penguins keep their eggs warm by keeping them on their feet, hidden under their big bellies. The mothers and fathers actually take turns feeding, storing fat, and bringing food back for the baby. This whole ordeal actually takes months so the father holds the egg while the mother feeds and then a few months later the mother holds it when the father feeds. They have to carefully pass the egg back and forth without dropping it, using their feet. If the egg touches the icy ground the egg and baby are "ruined" and the whole March has been done in vain. Once the chicks hatch (and, yes, they are really , really cute!) the game of passing them back and forth on your feet continues. It is not easy to keep a new chick alive, which sadly, the movie does show. I could go on and on telling you all about penguins and all about the movie but I won't: The best advice I can give you is to go see the movie yourself. And bring lots of Kleenex! I burst into tears about four times during this movie. It's one of those films where just when you think the heroes have overcome their biggest hardship, WHAM, something else gets thrown their way. You will truly wonder why they've accepted this difficult life style and how they have the pluck and bravery to go on. What's more important, you will find YOUR life of riding the subway, going to work, raising kids and arguing with your mate a breeze after "waddling" in the steps of a penguin. I saw this with my 60 year old mother and my 6 year old child: We all loved it. The movie theater had small children in it and I was sure a few "bored" ones would raise a ruckus. They didn't. Everyone in the audience, young and old, was captivated by the charms of the adorable penguins. P.S: Is it just me or do the penguins have the most beautiful, emotion-filled eyes? Look at the way they look at their mates and their babys. (Grabs the Kleenex again!) ********* out of **********.
Review of March of the Penguins
March of the Penguins
(2005)
I will NEVER complain about my "hard life" as a human again!
17 September 2005