"A Walk to Remember"
by Scott Mantz

"March of the Penguins"
Narrated by Morgan Freeman
Directed by Luc Jacquet

Meet the parents!  New families break the ice in "March of the Penguins"

If you think about it, penguins are an unusual species.  They have wings, but they cannot fly.  They can swim under water for 15 minutes, but they are not fish.

Yet every winter, thousands of these birds abandon their seaside homes and walk up to 70 miles across the frigid Antarctic landscape for an isolated region so desolate and harsh, no other life can survive there for most of the year.  The temperature drops to 80 degrees below zero, which becomes even more unbearable when fierce winter storms push the winds past 100 miles-per-hour.  They go for months without food, starving themselves to the point where they lose up to half of their body weight.  And they go through this (and a whole lot more) all in the name of love.

And you thought you had it rough finding a mate…

Actually, “rough” is exactly what it was like for the film crew that managed to capture this process on camera after camping out for thirteen months during the harshest winter conditions on the planet.  As a result, the intimate and triumphant “March of the Penguins” does for that species what 2003’s enchanting “Winged Migration” did for birds – it brilliantly depicts the story of their survival in an engrossing, compelling and awe-inspiring manner that will leave you moved, fascinated and amazed.

With such beautifully sculptured ice cliffs, canyons, ravines and plains, it’s hard to believe an otherworldly terrain like Antarctica even exists.  It’s even harder to believe that life can prosper there for extended periods of time, but that’s what the emperor penguins have done for thousands of generations.  Their bodies are so thick that they waddle when they walk, and their color makes them look like they’re always dressed for the Academy Awards.  Yet every winter, they march in single file across the desolate landscape to find a mate and reproduce.

French director Luc Jacquet gets close enough to the proceedings to be intimate and informative without being disruptive.  As the weather changes for the worst, the penguins huddle together to keep each other warm while waiting for the females to lay their eggs.  When that happens, the females transfer the eggs to the males, who keep them warm while they make the long journey back to the sea to get food.  By the time they return and the eggs have hatched, the males are exhausted and starving after going 125 days without eating.

Watching the penguins interact with each other while caring for their newborn chicks may be funny and touching, but the fact is, so many obstacles have to be overcome for them to make it that far.  It’s heartbreaking to see the failure of a union when a female unintentionally lets her egg fall victim to the frigid cold, while some of the baby chicks that do hatch starve to death before their mothers return with food.  And even though the penguins welcome the warmer weather, they also have to deal with hungry predators who swoop in on the defenseless babies like target practice.

But such is the survival of the fittest, and the fittest baby penguins who do survive will eventually grow up and make the march themselves, thereby starting the process all over again.  And as told by Oscar-winner Morgan Freeman, who narrates the film with the same soothing, moving and commanding delivery he brought to “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Million Dollar Baby,” the story of their incredible adventure isn’t just unusual.  It’s downright beautiful.

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