Film ReviewsAntarctica: a year on iceJan 9, 2015 Anchorage Press
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There are concepts that cannot be completely explained. They have to be experienced, like walking into a wall of night-flowering jasmine when one turns a corner in San Francisco, or being able to smell snow just before it falls in Alaska. In Anthony Powell's Antarctica: A Year on Ice, the director faces a similar challenge, conveying to viewers the absence of daily sensual experiences that most people take for granted.
Powell spent over a decade compiling images and personal experiences depicted in the film. Early in the film he points out that to understand Antarctica, one must spend at least one full year there, thus, the title of the documentary. In lieu of packing up crampons and other gear to face life at the bottom of the world, viewers can experience one year in Antarctica in an hour and half, and in the comfort of a theater. Powell is not a film school chum but his work in Antarctica: A Year on Ice shows a great deal of commitment, understanding of the subject matter, and technical skills.
It is not known, from the film, if Powell intended to make a film from the get go or if it emerged as he got tired of answering the question, "What's it like to live down there?" He used Kickstarter to help fund the project and in 2012 collected almost $52,000.
Powell used time-lapse photography to provide viewers with a glimpse of environmental dynamics he experienced every day. Through his own personal experience, as well as interviews of his colleagues at McMurdo Station, the famed research center, Powell addresses the human experience in the Antarctic desert. The stories and observations given by the different people at the station are unique to the individuals but actually are part of a bigger narrative about what it takes to thrive in that environment, especially as the light dwindles and the option becomes no longer an option-at least until the next work season.
The interviews are candidly honest, never seeming self-aggrandizing or superfluous, even the personal footage woven from Powell's wedding. The collective consciousness of the McMurdo team becomes apparent as they describe situations and phenomena like their respective experiences of Polar T3 Syndrome, as one of the interviewees calls it, a "T3 moment." Reduced levels of triiodothyronine (T3), a thyroid hormone, often cause forgetfulness, mood disturbances and cognitive impartment. The condition may happen after five continuous months in Antarctica and is manifested through what is known as the "Antarctic stare".
Antarctica: A Year on Ice is unassuming. The filmmakers simply tell their story and allow Antarctica to roll out via magnificent and ever-changing landscapes. The beauty depicted on the screen unfolds organically, hand in hand with the harsh realities that other documentaries may opt to leave out, such as the stench of hundreds of pounds of penguin feces, or the fact that on a particularly cold day, someone has to thaw out the urine pipes. The time-lapse photography gives texture and immediacy to the environmental conditions it depicts. Antarctica: A Year on Ice is as stunning as moving paint on canvas. Because Powell does not force any one topic or point of view, he leaves space for viewers to simply experience Antarctica. Viewers may find their minds wondering to find parallels between the unknown icescapes and their own environment, like rock formations that rival Gaudi architecture, or fiery skies worthy of Munch's "The Scream." Antarctica: A Year on Ice cannot possibly give viewers the full experience of a year in Antarctica, but it's a beautiful effort.
Antarctica: A Year on Ice shows at Bear Tooth Theatre January 13-15 at 5:30 p.m.
Powell spent over a decade compiling images and personal experiences depicted in the film. Early in the film he points out that to understand Antarctica, one must spend at least one full year there, thus, the title of the documentary. In lieu of packing up crampons and other gear to face life at the bottom of the world, viewers can experience one year in Antarctica in an hour and half, and in the comfort of a theater. Powell is not a film school chum but his work in Antarctica: A Year on Ice shows a great deal of commitment, understanding of the subject matter, and technical skills.
It is not known, from the film, if Powell intended to make a film from the get go or if it emerged as he got tired of answering the question, "What's it like to live down there?" He used Kickstarter to help fund the project and in 2012 collected almost $52,000.
Powell used time-lapse photography to provide viewers with a glimpse of environmental dynamics he experienced every day. Through his own personal experience, as well as interviews of his colleagues at McMurdo Station, the famed research center, Powell addresses the human experience in the Antarctic desert. The stories and observations given by the different people at the station are unique to the individuals but actually are part of a bigger narrative about what it takes to thrive in that environment, especially as the light dwindles and the option becomes no longer an option-at least until the next work season.
The interviews are candidly honest, never seeming self-aggrandizing or superfluous, even the personal footage woven from Powell's wedding. The collective consciousness of the McMurdo team becomes apparent as they describe situations and phenomena like their respective experiences of Polar T3 Syndrome, as one of the interviewees calls it, a "T3 moment." Reduced levels of triiodothyronine (T3), a thyroid hormone, often cause forgetfulness, mood disturbances and cognitive impartment. The condition may happen after five continuous months in Antarctica and is manifested through what is known as the "Antarctic stare".
Antarctica: A Year on Ice is unassuming. The filmmakers simply tell their story and allow Antarctica to roll out via magnificent and ever-changing landscapes. The beauty depicted on the screen unfolds organically, hand in hand with the harsh realities that other documentaries may opt to leave out, such as the stench of hundreds of pounds of penguin feces, or the fact that on a particularly cold day, someone has to thaw out the urine pipes. The time-lapse photography gives texture and immediacy to the environmental conditions it depicts. Antarctica: A Year on Ice is as stunning as moving paint on canvas. Because Powell does not force any one topic or point of view, he leaves space for viewers to simply experience Antarctica. Viewers may find their minds wondering to find parallels between the unknown icescapes and their own environment, like rock formations that rival Gaudi architecture, or fiery skies worthy of Munch's "The Scream." Antarctica: A Year on Ice cannot possibly give viewers the full experience of a year in Antarctica, but it's a beautiful effort.
Antarctica: A Year on Ice shows at Bear Tooth Theatre January 13-15 at 5:30 p.m.
