Into the Cold: A Journey of the Soul (2010)

Tied for the best movie I have ever seen

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Blistering performances.

"Into the Cold: A Journey of the Soul" (2010 release; 87 min.) retells the preparation for, and then the actual attempt, to recreate the polar expedition of Admiral Keary and his team from 1909 exactly 100 years later. It basically involved a 6 week trek on foot, covering over 300 miles, towards the north pole. As the documentary opens, we are introduced to Sebastian Copeland, the writer-director-photographer-editor and all-around "star" of this movie. We learn a bit of his background and then things start to get serious with the final preparations of Sebastian's and Keith's trek, which Sebastian calls "the Mount Everest of polar expeditions", but as the DVD jacket cleverly points out: "In the last century, fewer than 150 people have made it to the North Pole on foot. By comparison, 77 people summitted Mt. Everest on May 22, 2008 alone", so it's pretty clear which of the two is hardest. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: first, the initial 40 min. or so of the documentary are devoted to background stories and preparations for the expedition. So when we finally do get to the actual expedition, I was more than ready for it. I'm happy to say it is very much worth it, and then some. We see Sebastian and Keith dealing with rubble fields, pressure ridges, fatigue, and the cold. Ah, yes, the cold! Temperatures exceed minus 50F at times, just unreal. Second, the footage from the North Pole is nothing short of stunning. And the beauty is that we get to see it in the comfort and warmth of our living room. Third, despite all the fluff about "searching for myself" or "a soul's journey", Copeland has a clear agenda for doing this, and the movie is basically a plea for a renewable and sustainable world. Last but not least, the documentary features a great soundtrack (courtesy of Didier Lockwood), and the occasional song (best of all: Canada's own Besnard Lakes' epic "Like The Ocean. Like The Innocent", which plays over the end titles). Somewhat surprisingly there are no bonus materials of any kind on the DVD (unless you want to call a 2 min. commercial for Copeland's "Antarctica: A Global Warning" book a "bonus feature", as the DVD jacket actually does).I stumbled upon this movie while browsing the documentary section of my local library. So glad that I found this. For another recent documentary with even better jaw-dropping footage, I can instantly and readily suggest you check out "Chasing Ice", dealing with glaciers in Greenland, Iceland and Alaska. Meanwhile, "Into the Cold" is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

Sebastian Copelands film is an escape from our modern world. When was the last time you did that? Sebastians film hits on three nerves for me. Isolation/solitude, personal/corporate responsibility and beauty. I am grateful to Sebastian for taking this journey so i could experience it through his eyes since there is NO chance i could ever do it on my own. Simply for that, this movie is a MUST see. From the time you see him weighing and packing his gear to the moment he arrives on the North Pole, you can see every moment of his experience. I'm sure condensing that to 90 minutes was difficult enough. You'll leave the film feeling a little more thought provoked on why we are here and our place in this planet.

For over 90 minutes Sebastian Copeland takes us step-by-step on a fascinating and dangerous trip to the North Pole. Two men, on skis, brave incredible odds to do what few people have done before.The most important message to us all is the ecological one: and this is rightly and forcibly impressed upon us throughout the film. It's easy to sit back in an armchair in - for example - Glen Cove, New York, and decree that the film has "way too much talk about climate change"!! It's never "enough" to "drone on" about the appalling state of the earth that this generation is going to leave for the next ones! And how many people almost risk their lives to impress this upon us? The film is beautifully shot and the narration takes us from the beginning germ of an idea in Copeland's head, to his meeting, much later on, with Keith Heger, his companion on the trek, and the many agonizing days and nights they risk in order to reach their goal.I cannot urge you enough to see this film (I believe is is coming out on DVD). Show it to your kids! Not for one minute does one get bored with the fascinating account of what goes on in Copeland's head as he endures an eerie silence day after day, only broken by the scrape of skis on brittle snow. It is truly a wonderful opportunity that Copeland has given to us to share in this exciting adventure: one that we were actually able to follow on a daily basis exactly a year ago on his Face Book blog as the trek progressed --- from our armchairs all over the world.

Sebastian Copeland's disappointing film about his trip to the North Pole on the anniversary of Perry and Henson's first trip there a hundred years before.Visually stunning the film gives a good idea what its like to be alone on the ice. The visuals in this film are amazing and and are the reason the film should be seen.The trouble is that the film is kind of a mess other wise. The film is very much a self love letter to Copeland with narration that is much too purple and self congratulatory. I came to despise the central figure of the film because its all about him.How much is it about him? We get a good look at his life, but at the same time we learn almost nothing about Keith Heger who made the trip with Copeland. Sure he's there, but he's more a body than anything else, its all Copeland. The film also gives almost no background on the original trip of Perry and Henson. It was something that happened and other than a couple of pictures and an odd mention about how they had to walk back and were not helicoptered home (as Heger and Copeland were).There is also way too much talk of climate change. Its clear that there is a problem, but Copeland the director drones on repeatedly about it at every opportunity so that it isn't long before we want to scream "enough". It would be fine if he had managed to work the subject into relevant parts of the narration, but he doesn't with the result it seems out of place. (actually it's like being hit over the head with a toaster).However with all that is wrong with the narrative, there is the images. the images are amazing. The images are the films saving grace. If it wasn't for the spectacular images the film would be a major bust.If you want to see great images that really put you into the arctic you must see this film. Its really clear from the footage that its just Copeland and Heger and no one else. It makes an impression on you that hangs with you in a way nothing else in this film does. (How much better this would have been if Copeland had gone into the Perry and Henson story since he would have single handedly explained what a monumental achievement they had made.) Worth seeing but wait for TV.