As it sits, right out of the box, this is a treat.

Documentaries are best when they project the passion of their creator and here we have a gentleman with infinite experience of living on the continent, a gentleman who even took the time and trouble to make his own camera equipment (that would work in the cold) and set out to capture the "experience" for those will never get it first hand.

Which is most of us.

Making heavy use of voice over (as opposed to head and shoulders interviews) this is a fun ride.

I can tell what would have made it perfect.

Since this is fundamentally a story about cold (people yes,landscape yes, but cold mainly) I would have loved to see a digital readout over every shot showing current temperature.

For example, when "summer" ends and the last plane is leaving, I saw people without outerware, dressed casual standing outside. I kept thinking, what was the temperature? In the next shot sequence a winter storm has set in which looks like it could freeze thoughts. What was the temperature then? Just a thought. Good movie. Recommended.

This informative and visually fascinating documentary centers on two themes primarily, and is set on the continent of Antarctica, which lies at the very bottom of our planet.

First, the film gives us a rather intimate look at the people who venture there to live and work at McMurdo Station, the U.S. camp in Antarctica, and which is by far the largest of the some 30 international stations set up and protected by treaty.

Secondly, the movie treats us to the spectacular celestial shows that occur there, as well as looks at Mt. Erebus, the southernmost active volcano on the globe, the Dry Valleys (considered by many to be closest to the topography of Mars), as well as some glimpses of the surrounding animal population, namely penguins and seals, who can survive the incredibly harsh conditions on the continent.

Anthony Powell, who grew up on a dairy farm in New Zealand, directs, narrates, and often appears in the documentary (which was 10 years in the making), as he's a veteran of travel there, and whose job it is to set up radio communications in remote areas outside the camp. He allows the viewer to get a real feel of a full year in Antarctica, which basically has only two seasons summer and winter, with the incredibly stark contrasts between the two.

Overall, this film gave me a strong sense of what it would be like to live and work there, and I found it to be an absorbing experience highlighted by nature and one of the very few areas in the world not yet changed by mankind.

You really have to admire the filmmakers and their willingness to put themselves way, way out to get a movie made. After all, most nature documentaries require a few weeks or perhaps a few months of filmmaking...yet these folks were there for a year. And, most importantly, they were in Antarctica for a year...and as I said, you really need to admire these folks.

The film is set at the US (McMurdo) and New Zealand (Scott) research stations and I was surprised to hear that there were up to 5000 people in the many research stations during the summer months. This portion of the film was interesting, as it held seals and penguins and life seemed not entirely awful. However the hellish and LONG winter was actually much more interesting--with the storms and things the folks did to avoid becoming like Jack Nicholson in "The Shining"!

Overall, this film has some of the most incredible cinematography in any film I've seen and it's never boring. I also wonder if it was originally made for the IMAX or OMNIMAX theaters...it really would look insanely good on such screens.