Antarctica

Original title: Nankyoku monogatari

1983
G
2h 23m

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

1.8K

YOUR RATING

Takeshi Kusaka, Shigeru Kôyama, Masako Natsume, Keiko Oginome, Eiji Okada, Ken Takakura, Tsunehiko Watase, and Sô Yamamura in Antarctica (1983)

Two Japanese scientists, Ushioda and Ochi, develop a bond with their sled dogs while on an expedition in Antarctica. They eventually leave Antarctica, only to return to search for the dogs inadvertently marooned there.

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Adventure Drama

Two Japanese scientists, Ushioda and Ochi, develop a bond with their sled dogs while on an expedition in Antarctica. Ushioda and Ochi eventually leave Antarctica, only to return to search fo... Read allTwo Japanese scientists, Ushioda and Ochi, develop a bond with their sled dogs while on an expedition in Antarctica. Ushioda and Ochi eventually leave Antarctica, only to return to search for the dogs inadvertently marooned there.Two Japanese scientists, Ushioda and Ochi, develop a bond with their sled dogs while on an expedition in Antarctica. Ushioda and Ochi eventually leave Antarctica, only to return to search for the dogs inadvertently marooned there.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

7.6/10

1.8K

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 3 wins & 5 nominations total

Trivia
It was a big cinema hit, and held the Japanese box office record for a domestic film until it was surpassed by Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke (1997) .

Quotes
Girl with Riki: Riki was raised on Kio island. Once winter gets there, the dogs would be left on the island. But people will come back for the winter. The dogs would have to go and find food for themselves. They would survive. Therefore Riki must be surviving on his own also. Because he is a diligent dog. Even if he can survive on Kio by himself, you can't compare Kio with Antarctica. I think so.
Akira Ushioda: It's impossible for all of them to survive. However, recently I've felt that a few of them might be able to survive. That's what I think.
Girl with Riki: But the temperature in Antarctica gets to forty below. Even fifty.
Akira Ushioda: Karafuto dogs can withstand cold weather very well.
Girl with Riki: Riki will probably find food on his own.
Akira Ushioda: I hope so.
Girl with Riki: That's encouraging.
Akira Ushioda: Up till now, I've still been regretting that we didn't kill the dogs. But that would be wrong. Because that's not the way life is supposed to be. All lives are equal. No one has the right to end the lives of those dogs. It took me such a long time to understand that.

Connections
Referenced in Meikingu obu 'Nankyoku monogatari' (1983)

Soundtracks
Ai no ôrora
Music by Tetsuji Hayashi
Lyrics by Tokiko Iwatani
Performed by Keiko Oginome
Courtesy of Canyon Records

User reviews23

Featured review

10/10

Movie That Really Bonds Man with His Dog

I am not a Disneyesque movie fan about animals and rather preferred seeing the standard top box office movies instead until my girl friend wanted to see Nankyoku Monogatari movie in 1983. We went and I didn't expect much until I saw it. It was more than I could take emotionally as the memories and love I had for my own dogs in the past came pouring out. Truly a great piece of work. I tried to find the movie at BlockBuster but to no avail.

A post script: I visited Sapporo, Hokkaido back in 1994 on a business trip. Over the weekend with nothing to do I took a taxi to the Hokkaido Agricultural Museum. Lo and behold, there was Taro in the place of honor who had been stuffed. How regal he looked. I didn't recall seeing Jiro there but learned later that he is along side of another famous Japanese dog, Hachiko, at the National Science Museum in Tokyo. Anyway, seeing Taro made my day.