EIFF2008: Encounters at the End of the World

The winner of the award for best documentary film, Werner Herzog's latest film treads some familiar ground as it once again offers insight into the lives of some bizarre characters. There's more to it than that however.

Turning up at the South Pole to interview a bunch of people who live there, Herzog again demonstrates his affinity for the more "eccentric" individual and again treats us to his wonderfully deadpan voice over. However, just as his GRIZZLY MAN offered a combination of Timothy Treadwell's barmy lifestyle and some stunning footage of bears in the wild, so too does his new film offer something more.

It's almost like two films in one. First of all there's the usual Herzog stuff about people being a bit weird and mad; but secondly it's a nature documentary, assaulting our senses with some simply stunning footage of nature at work at the South Pole.

If you liked GRIZZLY MAN, you should love this one too but if you are going to see it, do your best to see it on the big screen, where the awe-inspiring nature photography deserves to be seen.