Coffee and Film

I had heard a lot about this movie and wanted to watch it someday. So when i got to see it on television i happily glued myself to the idiot box. The thing which i had heard in advance about this movie was that it was narrated by bollywood living legend Amitabh Bacchhan. That is why i was looking forward to it lus the fact that it was a love story! Amitabh’s voice in the movie sounds so very authentic and rhythmic that you will almost fall in love with it. Coming back to the story of the movie, it is about the Emperor penguin, his mate and the little child which they bring up together facing all the hardships. It is about how the female of the species transfers her egg to her male who then takes care of it for months. The female in the meantime has to travel miles in search of the food and come back to her family with the stock of food. The father in the meantime takes care of the child which has hatched from the egg by then. They have little or no food left with them and feed the child with some emergency supply from the mouth waiting desperately for the mother. Both father and child have to face the wind stroms and it is only the fittest of the kids who survive. The father also in extreme circumstances eats up the newborn if all his resources are depleted and there is no sign of the mother. The mother walks and walks and tries to reach the family as soon as possible. The distance from the ocean maybe sometimes 120 miles! Once the mothers reach the emperor penguins who have there children all cuddled up under them they recognize their own by the sound they send out. The high decibel shrieks are unique to every penguin and is the only way by which the mate can be recognized. Once they get their mate, the child is transferred to the mother in the same manner as the egg was transferred to the father. Now the mother will bring up the child. The father leaves promptly as he is hungry and has a long journey ahead of him to the ocean. The mother takes care of the child and feeds them properly now. When they grow up sufficiently they are left on their own to lead their independent lives. But after a period of four years, they will repeat the same cycle for their offspring as their parents did for them.

The movie touched my heart because of the message it conveyed. The sacrifice that the penguins do for their young ones is commendable. In most of the animal species, it is the female who has the sole responsibility for bringing up the child but penguins are an excellent example of team work and dedication in a family environment.

Good visuals and sound effects make the movie a must watch for anyone interested in wildlife. It is a better experience than a national geographic or discovery program, i bet!