This documentary has all the qualities of a good drama. It has actually dramatized the penguins' lives into those of human beings. Compassion is good. Presumption, squeezing human emotions into other species, is not. Penguins are like all creatures, big and small, in their worthiness and rights to exist in the way they want. There is no need to apply human beings' senses to them in order to gain sympathy. I admire this film's beauty and elegance in the presentation. The film's crew is most entitled to the given awards and honors. The unintentional effect, though, is a violation of nature itself. We are supposed to watch, observe, and co-exist with fellow beings in the nature if we are truly respectful of them. An early scene of the whole flock of penguins confronting a severe snow storm during the breeding is narrated as if we knew what they were and really felt. What a presumption. Old-style animal documentaries become classic works because they do not presume to know more than the eyes meet. We are freed up to develop our own understanding and, quite likely, compassion towards what we see and learn. Today's filmmakers become a man who knows too much, clotting the screen with new tools and tactics, depriving the audience their freedom and creativity. Nature ceases being nature, and a media invention is made. This is not a trend that supports the unity of living organisms. Instead, it is a forced humanization of the worst kind. We watch a documentary on Penguins to know Penguins, not knowing better of fellow human beings, which is already in abundance.
Review of March of the Penguins
