This movie was just okay. Ironically, it suffers from a parallel problem with the climate change cause it champions. Although movies about scenery can be beautiful and awe-inspiring, people care most about stories of other people. Yet the story of the two main players in this piece are under-told. We never really get much background on either of them. They're introduced perfunctorily, as though by resume: This guy does this; that guy does that.
We do get to see some of their preparation and a bit of the training, mostly for writer/director/star Sebastian Copeland ⎯ in fact, almost entirely for him. But we never really get to learn who they are as people. Sebastian talks a little about his photography background and the fact that climate change is important to him. But it's simply not presented in a very compelling way. There is too much "telling" and not enough "showing".
This is true for all of the personal stories. For example, he mentions in narration the problems faced by the Inuit and we do see them briefly, but there is no investigation of their history, or their individual struggles, or anything like that. We are just briefly given a few factual tidbits. Actually, even this part of the movie seemed more about Sebastian than about them. He told us that they blessed him and although that's an honor, it did seem like he was trying to tell us, "Look at how well they regard me!" Perhaps I'm wrong, but the best documentary makers know how to get out of the way when need be and show the stories of other people.
There are some technical issues with the filming itself. Other than the formal interviews, every single interior scene is out of focus. There is also a bit of rolling shutter on the outdoor scenes. The latter is no big deal, but the poor focus was distracting for me.
Ultimately, the movie is a bit like looking through an acquaintance's holiday photos. The scenes may be stunning ⎯ and they are ⎯ but there is little to truly draw us in to the human element.
We do get to see some of their preparation and a bit of the training, mostly for writer/director/star Sebastian Copeland ⎯ in fact, almost entirely for him. But we never really get to learn who they are as people. Sebastian talks a little about his photography background and the fact that climate change is important to him. But it's simply not presented in a very compelling way. There is too much "telling" and not enough "showing".
This is true for all of the personal stories. For example, he mentions in narration the problems faced by the Inuit and we do see them briefly, but there is no investigation of their history, or their individual struggles, or anything like that. We are just briefly given a few factual tidbits. Actually, even this part of the movie seemed more about Sebastian than about them. He told us that they blessed him and although that's an honor, it did seem like he was trying to tell us, "Look at how well they regard me!" Perhaps I'm wrong, but the best documentary makers know how to get out of the way when need be and show the stories of other people.
There are some technical issues with the filming itself. Other than the formal interviews, every single interior scene is out of focus. There is also a bit of rolling shutter on the outdoor scenes. The latter is no big deal, but the poor focus was distracting for me.
Ultimately, the movie is a bit like looking through an acquaintance's holiday photos. The scenes may be stunning ⎯ and they are ⎯ but there is little to truly draw us in to the human element.