Encounters at the End of the World (DVD)
Directed by: Werner Herzog

With 2005’s Grizzly Man, German filmmaker Werner Herzog tapped into an unexpected new audience for his films. While the majority of his work up until that point had leaned heavily toward the art house, Grizzly Man was a co-production of The Discovery Channel and had a mainstream appeal that was of particular interest to nature lovers and environmentalists alike. Two years later, he re-teamed with Discovery for another documentary that would get up close and personal with the animal inhabitants of another frontier: the icy landscape of Antarctica.

Encounters at the End of the World is all about Herzog’s journey to the south pole, and the many strange creatures who have adapted to its beautiful yet unforgiving terrain. Surprisingly, the focus of these specimens is actually a quirky assortment of humans, primarily scientists, all of whom live at McMurdo Station, a research base that has the feel of a small town. They are the most intriguing part of the film, and in typical Herzog fashion, he examines them with a cold, scientific manner as if they were merely another part of the area’s wildlife. He is especially drawn to the nomads and wanderers, outsiders who have found themselves settling in Antarctica because they have nowhere else to call home. The film is at its strongest when it is exploring these personal stories and general life at McMurdo, but unfortunately time must also be made for animals, geology, and neutrinos.

Herzog himself states in narration early on that he had no interest in making “another film about penguins”, and he successfully avoids that trap, although he also can’t help himself when given the opportunity to interview a notoriously reclusive penguin expert. He poses odd questions about gay and suicidal penguins that seem designed more to delve into the psyche of the researcher than the true nature of penguins. And yet, this is precisely the strange dichotomy that drives the movie: the scientists talk passionately about their work, but Herzog is more interested in them than he is in the specifics of their research. As a result, these particular segments lack focus, and we never really glean a context for the information that is delivered.

Still, this is not supposed to be a bland PBS nature documentary, and really, who would want that anyway? There’s no question that some of Herzog’s interest in Antarctica also lies with the stunning scenery. He credits his friend’s underwater footage for inspiring him to make the trip in the first place, and he does manage to capture some amazing imagery on film himself. His eye for the cinematic and flair for the dramatic ensure some poetic moments, and he elegantly incorporates artistic and experimental elements such as the spacey sound of seal calls underwater. The movie really does take us to some alien worlds, and for that alone, it is compelling. Some of the segments drag on a little long, but Herzog clearly doesn’t want to detract from the visuals.

As with most of Werner Herzog’s documentaries, his own personality has a strong influence on the final product. Although he doesn’t appear on screen much (if at all), he is often heard questioning the subjects and also narrates the film in his trademark German accent. His observations are sometimes insightful and other times hilarious, but he is always blunt and concise, occasionally cutting off interviews and summarizing with his own voiceover instead. We must rely on him to weave all of these different pieces together into a cohesive whole, something he doesn’t quite manage to do.

Herzog’s “encounters” are indeed fascinating, but the movie jumps around a lot without ever really finding a rhythm or a reason. As unsatisfying as this is, it is still quite a trip, and far from being a typical nature doc. I’m glad that Herzog made the trip to the end of the world, if only because there is no tour guide quite like him. The movie sheds some light on an amazing place that most of us will never get to visit, but it also ventures off the beaten path to peek at details that no one else would. Much like the act of traveling itself, you will only get out of this movie what you put into it. And if that statement sounds like meaningless psychobabble, maybe I’ve just been listening to too much Werner Herzog for the past few hours.

The 2-disc DVD set also includes a bevvy of extras including an audio commentary with Herzog, his producer and his cinematographer, plus some featurettes that flesh out some of the interviews with the divers and offer more raw footage of scenery and seals. Perhaps the coolest extra of all is an hour long conversation with Werner Herzog, conducted by Jonathan Demme at the Museum of the Moving Image in New York City. — Sean

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Recommended If You Like: Aliens of the Deep, Grizzly Man, March of the Penguins