69
296
11
3
2
2
3
2
1
1
2
5
"Making clear judgments is key to surviving in Antarctica"
Antarctica was based on the real adventures of the first Japanese crew to spend the winter on the frozen continent. The story took place during the mid to late 1950s encompassing the struggles to get the expedition off the ground to fighting to return to recover the furry crew left behind. For dog lovers, this will be a painful watch because these were some of the best boys and girls ever.
Kuramochi Takeshi is a geology professor determined to help Japan participate in the International Geophysical Year with a trip to Antarctica. His father had once traveled there and Takeshi is eager to follow in his snowshoes. With Japan suffering from not only devastating economic post war issues, it was also grappling with an identity crisis. Takeshi believes that a successful trip to the bottom of the world will revive the people’s spirits and help them to dream big once again. Takeshi desperately wants to give the children something to look forward to and to be proud of. The Japanese government and the international community are not keen on the idea, thinking Japan under prepared and funded for such a venture. Takeshi and friends convince even the most hard-hearted politicians with the help of school children donating their meager savings to the cause. When the men finally set sail, they have no idea of the wonder and hardships that await them.
The first episode was slow with political posturing and the struggles of adapting a ship for the ice filled waters, finding and training sled dogs, and picking a crew. Time was severely limited and those involved were not always experts on what needed to happen. Takeshi and the young Inuzuka were charged with finding sled dogs and training them, something neither had ever done. Takeshi also helped with the ship renovations. Developing a cohesive crew that could depend on each other with their lives proved daunting.
The acting was quite strong overall. With a great deal of melodrama milked for all it was worth the tears flowed freely. Men from different walks of life with different motivations for the trip had to overcome personality conflicts to work together. The drama filmed in Antarctica which showed the beauty and grandeur of the isolated continent. And of course, the stars of the show, the sled dogs were the heart and heartbreak of the story. I was saddened to learn that Sakhalin huskies couldn’t be used as there were only two purebreds left in Japan in 2011. Today there are none according to a recent report.
The drama often stalled due to a great deal of redundancy. Watching them retrofit the Soya once was okay, three times a bit much. And then the crowds gathering to send them off and welcome them home each time became repetitive. Every people wants to feel proud of their country and rousing speeches used judiciously lead to a heartwarming effect. But when patriotic, rousing speeches are overused it begins to wear thin.
This drama, like my review, felt like it should have been significantly shortened, a lengthy list of concerns follows for anyone interested in reading the rest. I enjoyed the redemption stories and the desire to venture forth to new horizons and give the people new dreams to dream. Takeshi’s developing love for his dogs and need to return to them was the crux of the drama buried in a pile of bureaucratic red tape. Dramas and films based on real world events are something I enjoy, but this one strained my attention span on several occasions. Near the end even when I knew a scene was made up for dramatic effect, tears still filled my eyes. The Sakhalin huskies were a lesson in triumph, resiliency, and survival. And ultimately, the bottomless well of forgiveness and love these majestic animals bestow on us, whether we are worthy of their devotion or not.
8 August 2025
Things that perplexed me, spoilery, but not too spoilery comments below:
The Japanese felt looked down upon because they had lost WWII and were constantly declaring that a successful trip would cause the international community to no longer think of them as losers. This felt like projection as much of the world was more concerned with the aggressor actions of the Japanese that contributed to a world war and up to 85 million deaths, not the fact that they were stopped. Germany had fences to mend as well. Acceptance and forgiveness take time.
I hope that many of the hazards the men dealt with were examples of dramatic license, otherwise they nearly proved to the international community that they were in fact not quite ready to take this step. Sometimes it pays to call in experts, I could not understand the decision for men unaccustomed to dogs in general attempting to train sled dogs which is a specialized skill. The decision to over-winter was shown as a last-minute decision onboard the Soya which went against governmental orders. How did they have enough supplies? Especially when they lost months’ worth of food supplies not once, but twice. Sakhalin huskies are voracious eaters and would have needed an enormous amount of food. The humans would also have required twice their normal calorie consumption. They mentioned fishing but catching enough fish in the deep dark of winter would have been a dangerous proposition. They often failed to plan ahead and had nearly deadly consequences more than once. Also, when facing death due to hypothermia, wouldn’t using the dogs for warmth have helped? They also didn’t seem to know that being so close to the magnetic pole would affect their compasses. One man made the team by lying on his resume which was caught early on, but was allowed to stay. His ineptitude all but caused a deadly disaster. Einstein’s quote was used repeatedly, “People are born to gain experience.” True, but in a place as unforgiving as Antarctica’s winter, everyone had to be counted on for survival.
Poor planning may have contributed to the canine tragedy as well. When the ship was in trouble, they delayed asking for help in order for the higher ups to save face putting the men and dogs in danger. The dogs’ lives were only considered by the government when the people turned against them and by then it was too late. The haphazard approach the team often defaulted to could be frustrating to watch.
The men would have stayed in Antarctica during the long dark winter. This total blackness was never shown to great effect, too often all of the action was well lit outdoors. Given they would have filmed in the summer when it was safer, but the rising sun constantly appearing over the horizon was overused. Yes, we wanted to see the actors' faces but that exposed skin would have been a health hazard in the winter. Same for when the sun was out all the time, where were their sunglasses to protect their eyes? Finally, even sled dogs should be given some form of shelter when conditions are extreme. Many of the dogs dying of “natural” causes at the age of 4 or 6 may not have been so natural. Sakhalin lifespans often reached 20 years old.
These are the things that tripped me up as I watched this drama, making me feel far more sympathy for the dogs than the people who couldn’t seem to get out of their own way at times. The expeditions and discovery of Jiro and Taro gave the Japanese a sense of excitement and pride when they dearly needed it so in the end perhaps it was all worth it, though the loss of the dogs that saved their lives on more than one occasion was a heartbreaker. Worth a watch, but would have benefited from condensing the story.
Kuramochi Takeshi is a geology professor determined to help Japan participate in the International Geophysical Year with a trip to Antarctica. His father had once traveled there and Takeshi is eager to follow in his snowshoes. With Japan suffering from not only devastating economic post war issues, it was also grappling with an identity crisis. Takeshi believes that a successful trip to the bottom of the world will revive the people’s spirits and help them to dream big once again. Takeshi desperately wants to give the children something to look forward to and to be proud of. The Japanese government and the international community are not keen on the idea, thinking Japan under prepared and funded for such a venture. Takeshi and friends convince even the most hard-hearted politicians with the help of school children donating their meager savings to the cause. When the men finally set sail, they have no idea of the wonder and hardships that await them.
The first episode was slow with political posturing and the struggles of adapting a ship for the ice filled waters, finding and training sled dogs, and picking a crew. Time was severely limited and those involved were not always experts on what needed to happen. Takeshi and the young Inuzuka were charged with finding sled dogs and training them, something neither had ever done. Takeshi also helped with the ship renovations. Developing a cohesive crew that could depend on each other with their lives proved daunting.
The acting was quite strong overall. With a great deal of melodrama milked for all it was worth the tears flowed freely. Men from different walks of life with different motivations for the trip had to overcome personality conflicts to work together. The drama filmed in Antarctica which showed the beauty and grandeur of the isolated continent. And of course, the stars of the show, the sled dogs were the heart and heartbreak of the story. I was saddened to learn that Sakhalin huskies couldn’t be used as there were only two purebreds left in Japan in 2011. Today there are none according to a recent report.
The drama often stalled due to a great deal of redundancy. Watching them retrofit the Soya once was okay, three times a bit much. And then the crowds gathering to send them off and welcome them home each time became repetitive. Every people wants to feel proud of their country and rousing speeches used judiciously lead to a heartwarming effect. But when patriotic, rousing speeches are overused it begins to wear thin.
This drama, like my review, felt like it should have been significantly shortened, a lengthy list of concerns follows for anyone interested in reading the rest. I enjoyed the redemption stories and the desire to venture forth to new horizons and give the people new dreams to dream. Takeshi’s developing love for his dogs and need to return to them was the crux of the drama buried in a pile of bureaucratic red tape. Dramas and films based on real world events are something I enjoy, but this one strained my attention span on several occasions. Near the end even when I knew a scene was made up for dramatic effect, tears still filled my eyes. The Sakhalin huskies were a lesson in triumph, resiliency, and survival. And ultimately, the bottomless well of forgiveness and love these majestic animals bestow on us, whether we are worthy of their devotion or not.
8 August 2025
Things that perplexed me, spoilery, but not too spoilery comments below:
The Japanese felt looked down upon because they had lost WWII and were constantly declaring that a successful trip would cause the international community to no longer think of them as losers. This felt like projection as much of the world was more concerned with the aggressor actions of the Japanese that contributed to a world war and up to 85 million deaths, not the fact that they were stopped. Germany had fences to mend as well. Acceptance and forgiveness take time.
I hope that many of the hazards the men dealt with were examples of dramatic license, otherwise they nearly proved to the international community that they were in fact not quite ready to take this step. Sometimes it pays to call in experts, I could not understand the decision for men unaccustomed to dogs in general attempting to train sled dogs which is a specialized skill. The decision to over-winter was shown as a last-minute decision onboard the Soya which went against governmental orders. How did they have enough supplies? Especially when they lost months’ worth of food supplies not once, but twice. Sakhalin huskies are voracious eaters and would have needed an enormous amount of food. The humans would also have required twice their normal calorie consumption. They mentioned fishing but catching enough fish in the deep dark of winter would have been a dangerous proposition. They often failed to plan ahead and had nearly deadly consequences more than once. Also, when facing death due to hypothermia, wouldn’t using the dogs for warmth have helped? They also didn’t seem to know that being so close to the magnetic pole would affect their compasses. One man made the team by lying on his resume which was caught early on, but was allowed to stay. His ineptitude all but caused a deadly disaster. Einstein’s quote was used repeatedly, “People are born to gain experience.” True, but in a place as unforgiving as Antarctica’s winter, everyone had to be counted on for survival.
Poor planning may have contributed to the canine tragedy as well. When the ship was in trouble, they delayed asking for help in order for the higher ups to save face putting the men and dogs in danger. The dogs’ lives were only considered by the government when the people turned against them and by then it was too late. The haphazard approach the team often defaulted to could be frustrating to watch.
The men would have stayed in Antarctica during the long dark winter. This total blackness was never shown to great effect, too often all of the action was well lit outdoors. Given they would have filmed in the summer when it was safer, but the rising sun constantly appearing over the horizon was overused. Yes, we wanted to see the actors' faces but that exposed skin would have been a health hazard in the winter. Same for when the sun was out all the time, where were their sunglasses to protect their eyes? Finally, even sled dogs should be given some form of shelter when conditions are extreme. Many of the dogs dying of “natural” causes at the age of 4 or 6 may not have been so natural. Sakhalin lifespans often reached 20 years old.
These are the things that tripped me up as I watched this drama, making me feel far more sympathy for the dogs than the people who couldn’t seem to get out of their own way at times. The expeditions and discovery of Jiro and Taro gave the Japanese a sense of excitement and pride when they dearly needed it so in the end perhaps it was all worth it, though the loss of the dogs that saved their lives on more than one occasion was a heartbreaker. Worth a watch, but would have benefited from condensing the story.
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