The Last Continent Blu-ray Review
Does the crew of the Sedna IV have endurance?
Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman, April 2, 2011
The ghost of Ernest Shackleton, whose doomed ship
Endurance was famously icebound in the Antarctic in 1916, haunts virtually every frame of the Canadian documentary
The Last Continent, and it's a ghost who might be heard to be taking the documentary's subject crew to task for daring to complain about their Antarctic plight when they are surrounded by such modern day conveniences as satellite television, shortwave communications, abundant light and heat and, lest it not be mentioned, a
lot of food. If Shackleton proved the resilience and perseverance of the human spirit, what is one to make of the crew of the Sedna IV, a Quebec-based research ship that set off in 2005 to winter in Antarctica in order to get first hand documentary evidence of climate change? We get a lot of agonizing debate amongst this baker's dozen of crew members, some of whom, like the documentary's director Jean Lemire, seem intent on living the "adventure of their lives," while others bitch and moan about not being around for their child's birthday party or, even more incredibly, wondering what will happen if some hypothetical relative of theirs were to die while they are ensconced in ice a world away. This focus on the crew's malaise is part of what at least partially hobbles
The Last Continent, a documentary which intercuts actual footage of Shackleton's doomed expedition along with copious quotes from the explorer (delivered in an archly pretentious manner by narrator Donald Sutherland, who can't quite decide if he should clip
all of his vowel sounds with a
faux British accent). But the frequent comparisons with Shackleton only point out how good the Sedna's crew has it, especially (
especially) when it turns out an unseasonably warm winter prevents the ship from ever getting icebound at all.
Antarctica has typically been home to over 20 million square kilometers of ice, but because of the less than hospitable conditions down there, very few people have attempted to stay there long enough to see exactly what is going on over the most frigid winter months. Enter the Sedna IV, which wants to be one of the first ships to actually stay through the worst months to see firsthand what the effects of climate change and global warming may have on this region. Sutherland's narration makes it clear that there are already some presuppositions firmly in place, notably that the Antarctic is warming five times faster than the rest of the world, so any climate change deniers should probably steer clear of this documentary lest their blood pressure rise, along with the planet's temperatures.
What
can't be denied as the Sedna IV settles into its Antarctic adventure, is that things never get as cold as they
should, at least according to history's traditions. The Sedna IV finds a secluded bay next to an abandoned Argentine research station in the Melchior Archipelago, expecting the ice pack to show up at any moment, but instead the unseasonably warm weather not only keeps the water flowing, it actually brings in some dangerous storms which require the Sedna to retreat from its harbor and once again take to the open seas.
Part of the problem with
The Last Continent is that it sets itself up as a piece which is going to examine climate change in a first person, up close and personal, manner. But what actually happens is that the scientific aspect of the piece is relegated to anecdotal sidebars, and in fact only really comes into play when the ship isn't icebound and must quickly evacuate the Melchior Archipelago in the midst of a scary storm. We get lots of shots of icebergs melting into the sea, and lots of talk about the lack of an icepack, but
The Last Continent seems fairly resolutely focused on the interactions between the crew. If it's taken on those terms, it's certainly interesting, but anyone coming to this piece expecting a devastating critique of the horrors of climate change will no doubt be severely disappointed. Instead
The Last Continent focuses on the melancholy which slowly infects the crew, a melancholy which is at least temporarily interrupted by such diversions as being able to catch part of the World Cup on an old television they manage to hook up to a gigantic satellite dish still at the Argentinian research station.
Where
The Last Continent succeeds on a sometimes staggering scale is as a travelogue. This is one of the most artfully constructed documentaries showcasing the natural world of the Antarctic ever brought to the screen. Lemire has helmed a really brilliantly shot film, one which travels from a breathtaking straight down shot taken from atop the Sedna's mast to the frolicking undersea life which is caught in any number of submerged footage. We're privy to some amazing sights here, including some hearbreaking moments of animals meeting their demises.
The Sedna IV spent 430 days away from its Canadian berth, with the bulk of that being at our planet's southernmost tip. As a personal story,
The Last Continent, while sometimes pretentious, is often quite disarming and enjoyable. (One has to wonder why Lemire has to hand write his entries in a journal while portentously intoning his words—are laptops with word processing software not available down there?). But as a environmental screed,
The Last Continent is strangely ineffective. That may actually be a recommendation to some potential audience members who are sick and tired of having global doom and gloom pummeling them from any number of media outlets.
The Last Continent has become something of a phenomenon in Canada, especially in its "home" of Quebec, where it's become a rather unexpected box office champion. There's little doubt that explorers and filmmakers like Lemire are helping to make the world at large more aware about the dangers we face, especially if we continue to ignore the warning signs of climate change which seem to be growing with every day.
The Last Continent may not succeed as a scientific exposé, but in its own way, showing us the wonders and worries of what's happening in Antarctica, it may in its own small way help the cause its filmmakers are so obviously interested in.
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