The Penguin Counters

Husband-and-wife filmmakers Peter Getzels and Harriet Gordon follow a mission to Antarctica—ultimately, Deception Island—with a crew of researchers led by Ron Naveen, a lawyer-turned-naturalist who specializes in the varied penguin species around the southern polar regions. Naveen believes that painstakingly tallying populations of different penguins over the decades (the birds have little fear of people and obligingly stand to be counted) provides an index of the changing amount of vital krill shrimp in the oceans, and other fallout from climate change. Naveen's personable sense of humor synergizes well with the comical birds. The mildly whimsical science of penguin counts—which turns more serious as the team concludes that some penguins are in sharp decline—digresses into the tale of Ernest Shackleton's expedition in these same waters, and the documentary also looks at the antique whaling-industry abattoirs that are found preserved on remote Antarctic islands, which is yet another reminder of mankind's poor stewardship of the planet. Extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes. An offbeat, engaging film that finds some humor in a serious subject, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)