Synopsis
Documentary about the work of Claude Lorius, who began studying Antarctic ice in 1957, and, in 1965, was the first scientist to be concerned about global warming.
2015 ‘La glace et le ciel’ Directed by Luc Jacquet
Documentary about the work of Claude Lorius, who began studying Antarctic ice in 1957, and, in 1965, was the first scientist to be concerned about global warming.
Ice and the Sky, Antarctica: Ice and Sky, Zwischen Himmel und Eis, Buz ve Gökyüzü, Nebo a ľad, Nebe a led
The scientist Claude Lorius (I have never before heard of) has been warning about the manmade global climate change since 1965. This not so great staged documentary by the director of one of my favorites “the march of the penguins” tells the story about him developing his love for science and Antarctica and the results of his research.
A bittersweet story of how a man dedicated practically his entire life to science, earned him countless global recognition yet feel to have lived a life that served no purpose.
"but I have faith, man is never more sublime in his humanity than when faced with adversity."
Although you don't learn much about the causes of climate change here you certainly get an understanding of the difficult conditions the inspirational scientists worked in to find their evidence. The drone shots of melting ice caps are incredible. And sobering.
following his death last week it felt like the right time to watch this doc about the work of Claude Lorius. He's not exactly modest and while the research was pivotal for climate science it's a bit of a slog at times.
Ice and Sky ha la grossa responsabilità di far conoscere al mondo la figura di Lorius, in una vita dedicata completamente ai ghiacci dell’Antartide e a spedizioni al limite dell’umano. Lo stesso scienziato francese narra le sue avventure e le sue ricerche con una ritrovata passione che va al di là del bene comune, e Jacquet lo lascia narrare meravigliato del suo rapporto con una terra biologicamente inospitale, ma che agli occhi di Lorius diventa la meta finale del proprio viaggio terreno.
Attraverso dronate spettacolari e filmati d’archivio originali, Ice and Sky racconta non solo la vita e le scoperte dello scienziato probabilmente più importante dei nostri tempi, ma ne esamina anche lo scheletro: la sua pazzia agli occhi di…
Engrossing doc about one scientist life studying in Antarctica. Original footage of the expeditions through the years from the 40's on. Most fascinating is the way his attitude evolves from one of inspired, explorative, adventurer to sober as he faces mortality and the real limits of Earth's carrying capacity. Pretty good doc
some really amazing shots opened up the movie- i loved the start credits sequence!
so first of all this was so totally my type of documentary: adventure back when not everything was discovered, scientific research and saving the environment. i thought it was SO cool that they used basically all archival footage to tell the story; it was amazing to me that it existed.
however, the timeline of the narrative and the editing confused me a lot it was super hard to follow. like there was a lot of emotional weight given to the first expedition right at the beginning when we haven't connected with lorius yet and then later on there are literally two plane crashes, but the emotional…
The documentary film succeeds when focusing on the interesting tale of Claude Lorius, a French scientist who first travels to Antarctica at 22 and becomes obsessed with going back. In his repeated trips, he tries to dig deeper and deeper into the ice to find out how the climate now compares to that of the Ice Age. He eventually finds out and the results may surprise you.
But the film does less well in focusing on his findings. There's a clear lack of emphasis on it in favor of more personal stories from Lorius. And when it's finally revealed in the final reels, it's done with little pizzazz and it's possible that you may miss it altogether. Not putting it together feels like a missed opportunity to present a smoking gun to skeptics.
The scenery may look pretty nice, but the findings are presented with all the flavor of bran flakes. Good for you, yes, but not necessary tasty.
A deeply personal memoir from the scientist with a “wild empathy for the planet” who locked down the human responsibility for global warming.
More at FlickFilosopher.com.
Between this and The Martian, I feel my need for deeply optimistic portrayals of humanity through scientific accomplishments is really being pandered to this year. I expected this to be much more focused on climate change, but it's mostly about men struggling against the elements in the Antarctic, and presenting these scientists as modern-day explorers. It gets less interesting the more it gets back to climate change, but was still great for me overall.