"Antarctic Journal"

I chose to watch the movie “Antarctic Journal”, a film made in 2005 by a South Korean director named Yim-Pil-sung. I chose it, even though I did not know much about it, to show my anthropology class because the main theme of the movie was an expedition to the South Pole and it fit my current subject matter.

I was a bit disappointed in the film. Although the cinematography and effects were good, the story was a horror film or a suspense film that was neither very horrifying nor suspenseful. The Korean expedition team finds a flag in the ice and underneath the flag is a journal written by some British expeditions from about 80 years before. The British journal notes some strange happenings they experienced and then the Korean expedition starts to have the type of things happening to them. The men start to have “horrifying” visions and dreams and people get sick. Eventually people start disappearing as the main guide seems to have something in his past that is haunting him – perhaps some connection to the British guide of the past, but it was not very clear.

Overall, the movie was mediocre, and my students did like it (but I think they would like almost any movie over studying !). I give it 3 of 5 stars.
edited by rlaunius on 5/21/2013