Last night I watched an amazing movie by Werner Herzog called Encounters at the End of the World. It takes place in Antarctica, but Herzog assures us upfront that it is not a fluffy penguin movie. Instead we see the people and the industry of a small settlement and we are introduced to people who feel they have no ties to the rest of the world. In one scene we see someone that is related to the ancient aztec royal family. In another we watch scientists listening to the sci-fi sounds of mammals underwater. In another still we see the cafeteria where soft-serve ice cream and slushi’s are chilled and served. Apparently there is widespread panic when the soft-serve machine goes down. Another time we see a man in a heat-conditioned office with a nice new computer looking out the window to the frigid cold. The eclectic mix of interviews and documentations do serve a purpose.

The movie is technically not a science fiction, but really it fits right in. It is both a pre and post-apocalyptic look into our world. Herzog asks questions about why humanity feels the need to control other animals and nature and to put our fingerprints on everything in the world. He assures us that, according to popular theory, nature will not allow humanity to live on this planet forever.

In another scene we see someone who used to be a linguist. This person says that it is possible that 90% of languages will be extinct in our lifetime. (I actually have a friend who, as an art project, teaches people the alphabet of a dying language – her website is at Daikons.com). Herzog says, “In our efforts to preserve endangered species’ we seem to overlook something equally important. To me it is a sign of a deeply disturbed civilization where tree-huggers and whale-huggers in their weirdness are acceptable, while no one embraces the last speakers of a language.”

At one point Herzog has researchers watching the doomsday creature-feature “Them” (the one with the giant ants) saying the film “express[es] grave doubts about our long-ranging presence on this planet. Nature, [the movies] predict, will regulate us.” In the very next scene we see images of single-celled creatures found by Antarctic divers displaying what Herzog calls a display of intelligence.

This movie was challenging in a way that I’m not sure I can describe yet. It is quiet and simple, yet in its simplicity it is haunting. There are, of course, beautiful landscape and underwater shots, but the movie is more about the actual infiltration of the last remaining wilderness. I highly recommend it for any science fiction lover.