Encounters at the End of the World

***Encounters at the End of the World*** is an American documentary film by Werner Herzog. The film studies people and places in Antarctica. It was produced by Discovery Films and released in 2007.

## Synopsis

Herzog and cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger go to Antarctica to meet people who live and work there and to capture footage of the continent's unique locations. Herzog's voiceover narration explains that his film will not be a typical Antarctica film about "fluffy penguins" but will explore the dreams of the people and the landscape. They begin at McMurdo Station and interview some maintenance and support workers as well as iceberg geologist Douglas MacAyeal. They travel next to a nearby seal camp supervised by zoologist Olav Oftedal. Next, they join the film's composer/producer, research diver Henry Kaiser, at his diving camp and interview cell biologist Samuel Bowser and zoologist Jan Pawlowski. Kaiser and Bowser stage a rooftop guitar concert.

Herzog and Zeitlinger return to McMurdo for some more interviews and visit the preserved original base of Ernest Shackleton. After some brief footage at the South Pole, Herzog interviews penguin scientist David Ainley. This footage includes a shot of a penguin marching in the wrong direction, walking to a certain death in the barren interior of the continent.

Herzog and Zeitlinger next visit Mount Erebus and interview volcanologists. A unique sequence follows which was shot in tunnels deep below South Pole station carved from snow and ice. Various trinkets and mementos, including a can of Russian caviar and a whole frozen sturgeon, are placed in carved-out shelves in the ice walls and preserved by the extremely cold and dry air. On the slope of the volcano, Herzog and Zeitlinger explore ice caves formed by fumaroles.

The film next visits the launch of a giant helium balloon used in a neutrino detection project (ANITA) and features an interview with physicist Peter Gorham. It concludes with some philosophical words from a maintenance worker and more footage from the fumarole ice caves and Kaiser's dives.

## Release

The film premiered at the 2007 Telluride Film Festival and had its official premiere on week later on September 10 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It also showed in 2008 at the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam; the Edinburgh International Film Festival; the Cambridge Film Festival and the Melbourne International Film Festival. Revolver Entertainment released the film theatrically in the UK from April 24, 2009.

The film was shown on March 28, 2008, Hong Kong Cultural Centre, in the 2008 Hong Kong International Film Festival; and on April 30 at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival.

## Reception

The film received predominantly positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 94% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 111 reviews, and an average rating of 7.64/10 - with the consensus that the film "offers a poignant study of the human psyche amid haunting landscapes". Metacritic reported the film had an average score of 80 out of 100, based on 25 reviews. On January 22, 2009, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

### Top ten lists

The film appeared on several critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008, including the following:

* 1st - Dennis Harvey, *Variety*
* 2nd - David Ansen, *Newsweek*
* 4th - Andrew O'Hehir, *Salon*
* 4th - Dana Stevens, *Slate*
* 4th - Peter Rainer, *The Christian Science Monitor*
* 9th - Michael Rechtshaffen, *The Hollywood Reporter*
* 10th - Andrea Gronvall, *Chicago Reader*
* 10th - Richard Corliss, *Time* magazine
* 10th - Sheri Lindin, *The Hollywood Reporter*

## Awards

*Encounters at the End of the World* won the award for Best Documentary at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Special Prize at Planet Doc Review Festival in Warsaw (both in 2008).

## Home media

Main article: *Encounters at the End of the World (Home video)*