Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Incredible docu captures human details of remote existence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 9+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Antarctica: A Year on Ice
What's the Story?
At several Antarctic research stations, many scientists, engineers, technicians, and other experts live and work during the summer months, when the sun can be seen in the sky (and during one period, never completely sets) in ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON THE ICE. During the winter months, a handful of brave souls stays behind to endure storms, isolation, disorientation, and a brutal number of weeks when the sun completely disappears. Filmmaker Anthony Powell keeps his cameras rolling in the bitter cold, picking up incredible time-lapse images, interviews with workers, and moments of jubilance, heartbreak, and truly astounding confrontations between man and nature at its most intense.
Is It Any Good?
Though life in Antarctica is challenging, this absorbing movie makes it look incredibly rewarding. Powell apparently spent 10 years making Antarctica: A Year on Ice, suffering frozen camera equipment and other setbacks. He doesn't focus on what the stations actually research, he rarely interviews scientists, and the climate crisis is only briefly alluded to. Rather, he focuses on everyday workers, mechanics, clerks, and administrators who help run things. The summer season then sharply clashes with the intense physical and emotional experience of a few dozen souls braving the winter months.
Powell doesn't let tiny details slip by -- like frozen bathroom pipes, 200-mile-an-hour winds, cravings for fresh vegetables, missing out on family events back home, and the very odd "T3 Syndrome," wherein workers very simply forget things they were doing just moments before. Workers aren't allowed to interfere with nature, so they can't rescue a lost baby seal, but they are allowed to fall in love, and Powell gets his own happy ending.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about whether spending a year in Antarctica seems enticing or frightening. What do the people in Antarctica: A Year on Ice experience? What do they have to do without?
What kinds of things can be learned from Antarctica?
Why aren't the humans allowed to interfere with nature in any way?
Why do you think people work together so well in this remote place?
How does Antarctica: A Year on Ice promote teamwork? Why is this an important character strength?
Movie Details
- In theaters : November 28, 2014
- On DVD or streaming : April 14, 2015
- Cast : Anthony Powell , Christine Powell , Keri Nelson
- Director : Anthony Powell
- Studio : Music Box Films
- Genre : Documentary
- Topics : STEM
- Character Strengths : Teamwork
- Run time : 91 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : mild thematic elements and language
- Award : Common Sense Selection
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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