Eight Below – An inspiring tale of survival of the fittest…at its best!
Duration : 120 minutes (2 hours) Rated: PG
Genre: Adventure / Animal / Fable
This is based on the Japanese film “Nankyoku Monogatari” (1983) (South Pole Story) which is based on the real-event.
Eight Below (2006) Movie Poster
Set in the middle of Antarctica, this is a daring survival tale of eight resourceful sledge dogs that is left stranded in the icy continent.
Jerry Shepard (Paul Walker) is a guide and dog trainer who works for the National Science Foundation. His cute and smart sledge dogs are inseparable part of his life. In turn, the eight dogs love their caring master so much. Due to the unpredictable weather, he reluctantly undertakes a mission for Dr. Davis Mc Claren (Bruce Greenwood), who came to Antarctica to locate a rare meteorite. Aided with the brainy dogs, Jerry rescues Dr. Davis who is trapped in the slippery surface due to the sudden storm. Soon, worsening weather condition forces them to vacate the South Polar base.
Leaving behind his beloved dogs, Jerry Shepard unwillingly boards the plane. And he gets the assurance that the dogs will be rescued in the next trip. But the worst winter of Antarctica makes his calculations wrong. On the other hand, the stranded dogs daringly try to cope with the insurmountable odds. Almost six months later, aided with his lover, Jerry Shepard reaches Antarctica and what they witness is absolutely unbelievable sight…
The movie was not filmed in Antarctica. It was filmed in Smithers, British Columbia, Norway and Kangerlussuaq, Greenland!
This film’s story is set in 1993 but the actual event took place in 1958.
Without disturbing the story-line, the romantic overtone between Paul Walker and Moon Bloodgood is nicely mixed.
In this visually stunning movie, scenes of the dogs caring each other, hunting together and sharing the food collectively are strikingly captured.
It is a heartwarming to witness the ingenious dogs fighting for their survival when pushed into a circumstances even the humans can’t withstand.
If you like this movie, you can watch the thematically similar ones like “Old Yeller” (1957) "Big Red" (1962) and "The Shaggy Dog" (1959 & 2006).
Avoiding the sentimental cliches, Director Frank Marshall handled the subject with documentary-style approach, which is laudable.
This spiritedly told animal tale teaches a lesson or two to the humans on how to overcome the difficulties against the unbeatable odds.
by
Srini