MARCH OF THE PENGUINS
Directed by: Luc Jacquet.
Produced by: Yves Darondeau, Christophe Lioud & Emmanuel Priou.
Written by: Luc Jacquet, Michel Fessler & Jordan Roberts.
Director of Photography: Laurent Chalet & Jérôme Maison.
Edited by: Sabine Emiliani.
Music by: Alex Wurman.
Released by: Warner Independent.
Language: English.
Country of Origin: France. 80 min. Rated: G.
Narrated by: Morgan Freeman.

An adorable, telling look at the love lives of penguins, chronicling the challenges, triumphs and follies of the emperor penguins’ mating cycle in Antarctica. Like Winged Migration, this nature film chronicles the movement of a species. But while Migration's director Jacques Perrin trained birds to create dramatic, staged shots, March of the Penguins' crew attempts to unobtrusively film the birds in their habitat.

Director Luc Jacquet, a biologist, and his team begin the film with the pairing off of mates. Each year thousands of penguins migrate to a specific spot where the ice is thick - that way when the chicks hatch, they won't fall through the melting ice. The birds chatter and amble, cautiously approaching their chosen mate; the gathering resembles a high school dance. Fascinating are the ways in which the new couples interact. Who would have guessed that the awkward, waddling penguin is such a gentle and romantic creature? Pairs slowly nuzzle each other's beaks, gently rub bellies and stand face to face, eyes shut. After the female lays her egg, the male protects it, balancing the egg on his feet for months and incubating it throughout fierce winter storms. While he starves on land, the female returns to the sea to eat.

Narrated by Morgan Freeman, the film combines gorgeous shots of the continent's ice and snow with the emergence of new life. For some unlucky parents though, dropped eggs crack, babies are snatched by hungry predators and spouses don't survive the shuttling back and forth for food. But Jacquet doesn't harp on tragedy. March of the Penguins is a feel-good family movie that's ideal for aficionados of the Discovery or National Geographic Channel (National Geographic co-distributes the film). Stick around for the credits to see how the film's camera crew interacted with their new tuxedoed friends. Deborah Lynn Blumberg
June 24, 2005