Werner Herzog’s latest adventure deep into the heart of nature, Encounters at the End of the World, has been playing in New York for a little while now and will hopefully start playing across the country. I absolutely adored the film when I saw an advanced screening over the winter and don’t know if I have laughed as hard since.The film is a verité portrait of different people and groups all living and working in Antarctica. It is infused with lot’s of Herzog love and it shows, as his narration often proves to be more interesting than the folks he chooses to interview. The people he does choose to talk to include scientists, everyday workers and people who can’t seem to find their place elsewhere.

What truly makes the film though, beyond a penguin scene that still has me laughing, are the images Herzog’s crew captures. It is truly something to see what nature means in a place we rarely get to see and more than that what nature means in a place that becomes more threatened by global warming everyday.

Watch the trailer below and be sure to takepart to read how global warming is giving the penguins of Antarctica more trouble. Also if you’ve already seen the film, be sure to watch the clip at the bottom to hear Herzog talking about penguin prostitution.

Read on:

• The End of the World as he knows it
• Herzog finds drama in Antarctica’s human colony
• Werner Herzog documents Antarctica sans ‘fluffy penguins’