Some of the strangest things happened the other day when I went to see a new film called March Of The Penguins. Was I dreaming, was it real, or had Rod Serling been resurrected just for me that day to take me back into The Twilight Zone?
First of all, I noted that the theater was packed for a Friday afternoon matinee – but the audience DIDN’T consist mostly of teenagers. In fact, they were the smallest audience segment. Amazingly enough, it was a very diverse group comprised of families with kids, seniors with friends and family, and plenty of middle-aged folks like me. I’m 59 and, yes, I know I won’t live to be 118. So, technically, I’m way past middle-aged, but 60 is indeed the new 40. So, mentally and emotionally, I’m far less than middle-aged – so there! Literally, the range was from 5 or 6 years old all the way up to 80 or so.
Imagine that.
Next, except for the laughter and delightful sighs that naturally emanated from responses to the charm and whimsy of the film, the theater was quiet for the entire movie. No cell phones, no people talking to those in nearby seats, just respectful and rapt attention to the screen.
Imagine that.
Next, the film itself was an amazing, beautifully written and utterly compelling story that was gloriously narrated with style, wit, and panache by the inestimable Morgan Freeman. There were no movie stars, and I had read no tabloid sensationalism about the actors, nor stories about bloated budgets and egos. And, as far as I could tell anyway, none of the actors had undergone face lifts, liposuction, or measurement “enhancements”.
Imagine that.
Next, there were no car crashes, no special effects, and there was no violence against men, women, or children. Where there was an indication of violence or sexuality, it was merely suggested in the most tasteful of ways and left entirely to the imagination of everyone in the audience.
Imagine that.
When the film was over, there was generous applause from the audience and then we all quietly and politely filed out with smiles on our faces and, for many of us, tears of joy in our eyes.
Imagine all that and you have my favorite movie of the summer of 2005 – March Of The Penguins.
Wow – what an amazing film!!
Penguins is a documentary shot over a period of almost a year in Antarctica that follows the fascinating saga of emperor penguins as they literally march over 70 miles of unmarked and shifting ice from the sea to their ancestral breeding grounds. Once they reach their destination, they engage in a thoroughly delightful mating ritual (only the G-rated “foreplay” is depicted) and then embark on an absolutely compelling and riveting nine-month adventure of courage, love, devotion, and survival.
To say more would ruin your thrill of discovering all the mind-boggling logistics of how these adorable and extraordinary creatures make it through the Antarctic winter, withstanding temperatures of 60 degrees below zero and windstorms that often reach 100 miles per hour!
Yes, predators do appear from time to time (thankfully, none of the human persuasion.) This is, after all, nature, and Antarctica has its food chain like anywhere else. However, there is nothing from which you have to avert your eyes and the sad moments are filmed and narrated with dignity and impeccable taste.
The film is one of those where you just sit with your mouth open wondering things like “That’s unbelievable!”, “How did they think of this?”, “How did they shoot that?”, “How do penguins survive that?”, and for me, “I think I walk like that, too” and “I sure wish we could see MORE movies like this!!!”.
In this dreary film-going summer of 2005, we certainly had more than our fill of typically empty, violent, crude, repetitive, and unimaginative Hollywood films. The unexpected delights of the summer turned out to be two documentaries – Penguins and Mad Hot Ballroom – wherein filmmakers told beautiful touching stories about love and commitment.
I hope you will see Penguins with your kids, friends, parents, grandparents, and significant others. When Penguins was finished, I left feeling something special for the first time in a long time after leaving a film. I felt wonderful about being human, conscious, and alive.
Imagine THAT
Stephen Simon produced such films as Somewhere in Time and What Dreams May Come and will next be directing and producing the film version of Neale Donald Walsch’s Conversations with God. He also wrote The Force is With You: Mystical Movie Messages That Inspire Our Lives and co-founded The Spiritual Cinema Circle www.spiritualcinemacircle.com. Stephen welcomes your comments by email: Stephen@spiritualcinemacircle.com.
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wanted
to say that I’ve truly enjoyed surfing around your weblog posts.
After all I’ll be subscribing to your rss feed and
I hope you write again very soon!
It’s remarkable to pay a visit this website and reading the views of all friends on the topic of this
article, while I am also eager of getting know-how.
Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board and I find It really useful
& it helped me out a lot. I hope to give something back and help others like you helped me.
I visited several web sites however the audio quality for audio songs present at this
site is in fact fabulous.
These are truly enormous ideas in on the topic of blogging.
You have touched some fastidious things here. Any
way keep up wrinting.
What’s Going down i am new to this, I stumbled upon this I’ve discovered It positively helpful and it has aided me out loads.
I hope to contribute & assist other customers like its aided me.
Good job.
Hey There. I discovered your weblog using msn. That is an extremely well
written article. I will make sure to bookmark it and come back to learn more of your helpful information. Thank you for
the post. I will definitely return.
Informative article, just what I was looking for.
I read this paragraph fully on the topic of the difference of most up-to-date and earlier technologies,
it’s amazing article.
I’m extremely impressed with your writing skills as well as with
the layout on your blog. Is this a paid theme or did you modify
it yourself? Anyway keep up the excellent quality writing, it is rare to see a great blog like this one
today.
I am not sure where you’re getting your info, but good topic.
I needs to spend some time learning much more or understanding more.
Thanks for fantastic info I was looking for this info for my mission.
Amazing blog! Is your theme custom made or did you download it from
somewhere? A theme like yours with a few simple adjustements would really make my blog shine.
Please let me know where you got your design. Kudos
When I originally commented I clicked the “Notify me when new comments are added” checkbox and now each time a comment is added I get three
e-mails with the same comment. Is there any way you
can remove people from that service? Bless you!
You actually make it seem really easy along with your presentation but I to find this topic to be actually one thing which
I feel I’d never understand. It seems too complicated and very vast for me.
I am having a look ahead in your next submit, I’ll attempt to get the grasp of it!
It’s an awesome article for all the web people; they
will take advantage from it I am sure.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate your efforts and I am waiting for your further write ups
thank you once again.
Heya i am for the first time here. I found this board
and I find It really useful & it helped me out a lot. I hope
to give something back and help others like you aided me.
What’s up to every body, it’s my first pay a visit
of this website; this webpage includes awesome and in fact good stuff for visitors.
Hey! I could have sworn I’ve been to this website before but after checking through some of the post
I realized it’s new to me. Nonetheless, I’m
definitely happy I found it and I’ll be book-marking and checking back frequently!
I’m curious to find out what blog platform you happen to be utilizing?
I’m having some small security problems with my latest site and I would like to find something more risk-free.
Do you have any recommendations?