March of the Penguins

Yamaarashi-chan and I went out yesterday to watch March of the Penguins, which is a gorgeous documentary about the Emperor Penguin and the tough existence they lead throughout their breeding season. It's hard to imagine how both the male and female birds waddle 70 miles inland, mate, and then birth the egg, which the father then adopts as the mother goes for food, both for herself and the chick, another 70 miles. When she gets back, it's the father's turn to get food-- and he has been without a meal for four months. It was a brutal film in some ways, but amazing in others. The cinematography was beautiful and stylish, the voiceover (by Morgan Freeman in the English edition) excellent, and the overall story compelling enough to be interesting for the full 85 minutes without commercial interruptions.

About the only weakness of the film is that the narrative line didn't contain enough explanation. There's a scene where a predatory bird comes in, and we aren't told what kind of bird it is, where it comes from, how it gets to the middle of Antartica, where it goes in winter, or anything; we just watch its slow attack on a chick and are left to wonder where the mother penguin has dissapeared to.

But a good film all the same.

Gilligan Es Morte

Bob Denver, who played the eponymous Gilligan of Gilligan's Island, died today. He was 70 years old.

Here's to another three-hour tour that ends up lasting forever.