debbieg-03269 Werner Herzog is a living legend in my opinion and this film explains why. He is willing to go to the edge of the world to find meaning and purpose- and he finds them in people, geographical objects and even penguins. Herzog goes to a base camp in Antarctica to learn about the inhabitants and why they are there. We learn about the kind of people and the kind of mindset they possess. But this isn't just a point and shoot interview. Featuring gorgeous but humbling vistas of the ice sheets and barren white land there is a poetic quality to the work. A scene featuring a lone penguin walking to its impending doom reeks of existentialist pain. This is a fantastic documentary by the amazing Werner Herzog.

hrkepler 'Encounters at the End of the World' is simply amazing film. Beautiful photography, smooth and calm narrator by director Werner Herzog himself (and not without his sarcastic humor - abomination like aerobics studio and yoga classes), wonderful people and seals whose singing were obviously ripped off by Pink Floyd. This film is entertaining and eyeopening at the same time. In the sense of explaining everything it is not the greatest film, but that is not the purpose of 'Encounters'. It gives us nice glimpse of people who work at the research center in Antarctica. And what a wonderful people they are - where else than in Antarctica you can meet and plumber who is Aztec royalty heritage. Or a sci-fi fan cell-biologist who shares his own interesting theory why we evolved out of the oceans. Quirky and wonderful people living on the haunting cold landscape.Even after ten years of it's first release 'Encounters' raises valid and relevant philosophical questions about survival of human species.

redwillowscom This was a terrible documentary about a wonderful thing. The beauty and mystery of everything in the film is worthy of a much better filmmaker. In one sitting, he merges information about volcanos, neutrinos, and penguins. It's very disjointed. He excites us with philosophical questions, then switches the subject entirely. It's like a film school student was trying to make something edgy, but his professor never got to edit it before they published it. I had to mute the Gothic music he decided to play over the clips of diving under the iceberg. I wanted to feel the solemn silence that scientists must feel down there. I wanted to let my mind run where it may, but instead I kept having to think to myself "Why is there a man yodeling?" (his choice of soundtrack anytime anything of interest was on screen). When he was interviewing scientists who were talking about their passion, you could feel their excitement as they spoke. But Werner insisted on constantly panning in on them, taking away any hope of subtlety. He featured pointless interviews with bus drivers that I expected to have lead up to the reason why they had found themselves in Antarctica, but didn't. The whole time I thought it would eventually tie up together at the end, but that never happened and I was extremely disappointed with the entire thing.

filmalamosa I rarely give an 8 to a film. This one deserves it. Herzog has managed to make an intelligent--yes that is the right word survey of the human endeavor in Antarctica.It is foremost a movie about people most of them are interesting especially the low key ones like the philosopher. There are however plenty of ego flaunting obnoxious ones like the woman "who traveled across Africa in a garbage truck". Unfortunately places like Antarctica attract and bring out that crowd of people--ones seeking some kind of identity through the "zaniness" of their experiences including of course being in Antarctica.Herzog subtly cuts them off at the knees when deserved such as saying we were glad to get out of McMurdo after an interview with someone claiming how important an ice cream machine was.Watch it you will like it.