A documentary about four geologists who work in the Antarctic, Ice People has its local premiere tonight at 7 at the Cleveland Museum of Art. Here’s our review of the film.
Ice People (France/U.S., 2008) While beautifully filmed, this documentary about four geologists looking for fossils in Antarctica doesn’t have any real drama. Sure, the crew weather a snowstorm or two and on occasion have to climb to the top of a wind generator to fix a turbine, but it’s all pretty dull stuff. We mostly see them digging holes and pulling out fragments of ice and particles that we can only assume have some kind of scientific significance. We get to know the subjects (one is a avowed Christian, even though he admits it clashes with his science background, and another guy figured moving 10,000 miles away from his ex-wife wasn’t such a bad idea), but Anne Aghion’s film is nothing more than a slice of life, albeit in an exotic setting that’s like no other. ** (Jeff Niesel)
This article appears in Sep 9-15, 2009.
