Imagine you just experienced beauty so sublime that you were struck dumb; all reasoning processes were shut down, and all you could do was stand and stare. Then imagine that you had to put that encounter into words. That is my task, as I attempt to review one of the best documentaries ever: Encounters at the End of the World.
Written, narrated, and directed by Werner Herzog, Encounters at the End of the World (2007) details the filmmaker’s trip to Antarctica. Encounters is especially focused on the people Herzog met; and, of course, the majesty of the frozen continent.
Synopsis
Almost immediately, Herzog lets viewers know that Encounters will not be a typical documentary.
While the film’s first shots are of the mesmerizing world beneath the sea ice, the setting quickly switches to the interior of a crowded plane. One sees scientists and other highly-qualified individuals sleeping on the floor and snoring with their mouths open, which is an unusually humble way to portray experts.
Furthermore, Herzog explicitly states that he’s not interested in normal questions about nature. The topics Herzog is curious about are deeper, more philosophical, and largely focused on behaviors that he finds puzzling – among both humans and animals.
These different, sometimes odd questions set Encounters apart from every other documentary, and they become a major part of the film once Herzog’s plane lands in Antarctica.
Once the plane touches down, Herzog is temporarily confined to McMurdo Station. Herzog explores this noisy, crowded, and muddy base, interviewing anyone with an interesting story. This not only includes scientists, but also bus drivers, forklift operators, cooks, and more; no one is too insignificant to escape Herzog’s inquisitive nature.
Unfortunately for Antarctica’s human inhabitants, Herzog is eventually unleashed upon the continent to bother field researchers wherever they may be.
The Genius of Encounters
Why do I say that Encounters at the End of the World is one of the best documentaries ever?
Part of the answer is what the film doesn’t have: there’s no fake drama, no stupid scenes of otters “dancing” to cha-cha music, no Indiana Jones wannabes, and no one body-slamming wildlife. There’s just an unspeakably beautiful continent, an intelligent and witty narrator who asks insightful questions, and some of the most interesting people in the world – and that’s enough.
Furthermore, Encounters’ interviews are exceptional.
Interviews
Herzog’s interviews are another one of Encounters’ strong points. As I’ve eluded to, he asks questions that catch people off guard and make them think.
Herzog also asks personal questions: ones that concern important moments in interviewees’ lives, or that explore their individual journeys. This is refreshing, and touches on an essay that I wrote for The Revelator.
The best parts of Herzog’s interviews, however, are when he says nothing.
During interviews, Herzog sometimes lets the camera linger on his interviewees without saying a word; it’s both amusing and humanizing to watch these poor souls stammer to fill the void, or turn away uncomfortably. After all, haven’t we all experienced awkward silences?
Metaphors
Along with avoiding stupidity and having great interviews, Encounters features a number of profound metaphors. One of these metaphors concerns “deranged” penguins.
At one point, Herzog interviews a penguin expert who uses words sparingly. Herzog asks if penguins ever get fed up with their colonies and go crazy, at which point the scientist explains that they sometimes get “disoriented.”
Encounters then features a sequence of shots of penguins losing their ways, refusing to go towards the coast or their colonies, but instead heading for Antarctica’s mountainous interior – towards certain death. Herzog explains that if one were to catch one of these disoriented penguins and bring them back to their colonies, they’d immediately head straight for the mountains.
When I watched this sequence, I couldn’t help but see a connection between these penguins and the humans on Antarctica.
Towards the beginning of Encounters, one of Herzog’s interviewees says that Antarctica – the most inhospitable continent for human life – is a meeting place for those with a desire to “jump off the edge of the map.” Is this not like the penguins, who, upon becoming disoriented, rush towards a place where they cannot survive?
Moving though such metaphors are, they are not the most significant aspects of Encounters.
“The World Under the Frozen Sky“
The most incredible sequences of Encounters at the End of the World have no dialogue at all. They consist of shots of Antarctica’s underwater environment, “the world under the frozen sky,” and they’re coupled with hauntingly beautiful music.
The power of these scenes transcends human language, and demonstrates why Antarctica must be protected from exploitation for all time.
Closing Thoughts
The word “masterpiece” is thrown around a lot, and often undeservedly. Despite this, Encounters at the End of the World is a true masterpiece. It is the most fitting tribute to the most unique continent on Earth, and the benchmark to which all other nature documentaries should aspire.
For this reason, Encounters at the End of the World goes all the way to eleven.
Final Rating: 11 out of 10.
One of, for sure. Herzog sometimes plays fast and loose with details in his documentaries — he admits they’re supposed to convey the “truth” rather than “facts” — but this one is stunning.
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Hi John, I feel like it’s hard to know the “truth” without facts, but Herzog doesn’t seem terribly concerned with others’ opinions. Regardless, he certainly did a good job on Encounters at the End of the World. though
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This looks like an excellent documentary, Josh! Thanks for the review and heads-up. Will make an effort to get to see it – have to see what the options are locally or might have to order on DVD.
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It certainly is a great documentary, and Herzog is an excellent narrator. I highly recommend you try to watch it if you can!
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I’ll be watching it tonight! Found an option.
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That’s good to hear! I’ll warn you, the first time I watched Encounters I didn’t quite “get” it. The second time, however, I started to understand the film’s intricacies more, and that’s when I realized how good it was.
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Really profound on various levels – yes, there’s much more to this film than meets the eye… I read your review a second time and it’s very good too. Will watch it again at a later date.
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Yes, it certainly is a profound film, and I’m glad that you still liked my review after watching it! I’m still quite new to the business of reviewing films.
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This looks fantastic, Josh. I love the metaphor, too. In a million years, the notion of how humans visiting Antarctica never would have occurred to me until you pointed it out. The name of that continent alone is….well, anti. A place for humans to avoid and a place where animals there should be able to live without exploitation. I wonder how much human influence has on the penguins becoming disoriented, if any.
Awesomely written.
~K
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Thanks, Kara! I didn’t get the penguin metaphor at first either; it wasn’t until the second time I watched the film that I began to understand why Herzog may have spent so much time on the disoriented penguins. However, I also wonder if he wasn’t trying to make a more general statement about “madness:” people getting tired of society’s B.S. and losing their minds.
Yes, Antarctica should always remain a global holy place, set aside for wildlife and non-exploitative scientific research. I’m fine with journalists and artists going to Antarctica – as long as they contribute meaningfully to the work being done there – but I’m very uneasy about the possible effects of Antarctic tourism. The last thing we need is a bunch of litter piling up on Antarctica, or tourists harassing animals for selfies.
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Well said! Enjoyed this discussion very much. 🙂
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Thank you!
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correction….
…the notion of how the penguins becoming “disoriented” is metaphorical to humans visiting Antarctica.
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No worries, I understood what you meant :)
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