Antarctic Voyage (Schreck, 2024)

Antarctic Voyage is a serviceable documentary that never quite articulates a reason for being sufficient to distinguish it from other nature films. Director Kevin Schreck name-drops David Attenborough in the press kit, but only to remind us, thrice, that his budget was a fraction of those films that inspired him.

If a critic mentions a film’s budget it is usually for one of two reasons: as a praise for a film that looks comparable to a more expensive one or as criticism of a film with an exorbitant budget that nevertheless looks cheap. Beyond that, laments about budget come off like coaches and athletes complaing about the refs. Fair or not, audiences don’t care about the budget, and critics tend to care only when artists cite it as a constraint. I’ve praised films at this site such as Homeless, Wrestling for Jesus, Passing it On, or Chameleon, when I thought the director created a film that I was able to enjoy despite their lack of resources. But it is hard not to foreground a film’s limitations when those involved keep apologizing for or lamenting them rather than leading with what they accomplished in spite of them.

So, what was accomplished?

Schreck follows his friend, Samantha Manier as she applies for grants and conducts doctoral research on marine biology off the coast of South Georgia Island. Manier reached out to Schreck to make the film, and that may go a long way towards explaining why it is never quite clear if the film is about her, about the expedition, or about the Arctic she is exploring. I suspect they would say, why can’t it be all three, but absent a central focus the documentary feels a bit generic. (It doesn’t help that the soundtrack is so very on the nose — movie music to convey wonder, well-known ballet music to connote Christmas.)

If all this sounds like I hated the film, I didn’t. It’s catty because there is not much else to talk about. The nature scenes are beautiful, and Schreck, financial limitations aside, films them decently. Manier is hardly a rhapsode, but she is personable and able to speak earnestly to the camera about herself and her work. Beyond that…well there really isn’t anything beyond that. If you enjoy nature, it will be a pleasant forty-eight minutes. If you don’t…it’s not going to turn you into a fan.