penguins

i hadn't watched a movie in eons, so i decided to catch one yesterday. "march of the penguins" is a documentary that i was sure that no one would have wanted to watch with me...so i went alone. =)

*allow me to sidetrack a bit...the last time i watched a movie alone was the day after the last breakup...i watched "alfie"...of all movies...probably to remind myself of what a bastard i had been in my other previous relationships, and that the one i had just been forced out of was the "comes around" part of the whole karma cycle...*

anyway, back to the movie...here's the synopsis from the official website:

"Each winter, alone in the pitiless ice deserts of Antarctica, deep in the most inhospitable terrain on Earth, a truly remarkable journey takes place as it has done for millennia. Emperor penguins in their thousands abandon the deep blue security of their ocean home and clamber onto the frozen ice to begin their long journey into a region so bleak, so extreme, it supports no other wildlife at this time of year. In single file, the penguins march blinded by blizzards, buffeted by gale force winds. Resolute, indomitable, driven by the overpowering urge to reproduce, to assure the survival of the species.

Guided by instinct, by the otherworldly radiance of the Southern Cross, they head unerringly for their traditional breeding ground where - after a ritual courtship of intricate dances and delicate maneuvering, accompanied by a cacophony of ecstatic song - they will pair off into monogamous couples and mate.

The days grow shorter, the weather ever more bitter. The females remain long enough only to lay a single egg. Once this is accomplished, exhausted by weeks without nourishment, they begin their return journey across the ice-field to the fish-filled seas. The journey is hazardous, and rapacious leopard seals a predatory threat. The male emperors are left behind to guard and hatch the precious eggs, which they cradle at all times on top of their feet. Subjected to subzero temperatures and the terrible trials of the polar winter, they too face great dangers.

After two long months during which the males eat nothing, the eggs begin to hatch. Once they have emerged into their ghostly white new world, the chicks can not survive for long on their fathers' limited food reserves. If their mothers are late returning from the ocean with food, the newly-hatched young will die.

Once the families are reunited, the roles reverse, the mothers remaining with their new young while their mates head, exhausted and starved, for the sea, and food. While the adults fish, the chicks face the ever-present threat of attack by prowling giant petrels. As the weather grows warmer and the ice floes finally begin to crack and melt, the adults will repeat their arduous journey countless times, marching many hundreds of miles over some of the most treacherous territory on Earth, until the chicks are ready to take their first faltering dive into the deep blue waters of the Antarctic."

i loved the movie. it's not really one of those documentaries that you see on the discovery or national geographic channels, where there's a commentator of sorts...there's actually a male and female lead...penguins of course, being voiced over. the dialogues are quite good...touching in some areas, funny in others...but the thing is they're in french. reading subtitles can be a bit distracting when you're looking at the overall picture, but what to do?

i vividly remember one scene, where the mother penguins had to go back to the sea to eat their fill before going back to the baby penguins...inevitably, there'd be danger in the form of leopard seals who'd prey on these flightless birds. "the monster in one bite would take away two lives...that of the mother and of the waiting chick who will never be fed..." i actually dreamt of it last night...

this movie gave me an insight to the life of a penguin. their behaviour is rather peculiar i must say...the way they walk, and slide on their stomache...the seemingly silly ritual of going so damn far to breed...with the father taking over the job of keeping the eggs warm while the mother makes the 3 week journey back to the sea to eat...with her coming back and feeding the kid while the father makes the same journey, only to come back to feed the kid again...and this is in ANTARCTICA...where it's -40 degrees celcius at it's warmest!!! it's gotta take a lot of devotion and love in the family...

but the thing i like about the penguins is the way that they court their mates. they're ever so gentle and calm...soft and caressing...slowly stroking each other's necks and bodies...a tranquil dance. must learn, must learn. haha.

some facts i learned:

1. emperor penguins mate for life. and they only meet once a year. how romantic...
2. emperor penguins only lay one egg. so if you fuck it up, that's it for that year.
3. antarctica is not a place for the warm-blooded.

i strongly recommend this movie to people who have the time and patience to watch an egg hatch. haha. no lah, seriously...it's worth watching...there are a lot of good lines in the dialogue...and the soundtrack is pretty nice too. trying watching it alone if you have to! =)