Eight Below

I tore myself away from my current fixation on Chinese books and movies long enough to wander to the theater and see Eight Below last night. Not having read any advance reviews, I had no idea what to expect but Mike told me he’d heard about grown men bawling. Having seen (and loved) March of the Penguins, I braced myself for a sobering tale of animals fighting the elements and struggling for survival. Indeed it wasn’t all fluff, but the triumph of this pack of devoted huskies over the bitter, hungry, Antarctic winter was pretty inspiring. I found myself captivated by the gripping stories of the dogs themselves (and believe me, there is canine character development here) and slightly bored by the tortured guilt of the tracker/dogsledder who was forced to leave them behind. Mike agreed that the B cast and mediocre script held it back a little, but overall, very enjoyable!

For a squeaky-clean adventure absent of gratuitous sex or violence, with some tearjerker moments, unexpected humor and absolutely gorgeous cinematography, definitely check it out. I give a solid 3 barks out of four.