Reviews of the film "White Captivity" will appeal to all fans of adventure dramas, as well as lovers of paintings with animals. This film by American director Frank Marshall is dedicated to the survival of dogs in Antarctica. It was released in 2006, becoming a remake of the Japanese drama "Antarctic History" of 1983, which is based on real events.
Filming
Reviews for the movie "White Captive" were mostly positive. Spectators and critics appreciated what work the creators of the tape did.
More than thirty dogs were involved in the work. And some of them did not appear on the screen for the first time. Maya, Max, Buck, and Jack had previously starred. They can be seen in Bryan Levant’s adventure sports comedy Snow Dogs 2002.
The main dog trainer, who ensured their appropriate behavior on the site, was Mike Alexander.
After the rental, the picture received favorable reviews. Critics spoke favorably about the movie White Captive. The tape was presented at several festivals, in particular, it received an award for the best music, was nominated for the Satellite Award in the nomination "Best DVD-publication for youth."
The lead actor Paul Walker, after finishing work, admitted that of all the dogs with which he had to act, he was most sympathetic to Shorty.
Plot
The action of this picture takes place in the Antarctic in 1993. In the story, station employee Jerry Sheppard goes in search of a dog sled meteorite with Professor Davis McLaren.
On the way back they get into trouble. McLaren breaks his leg and falls into icy water. His health is in danger. Jerry also needed help, as he received a partial frostbite. However, they are the only people thousands of kilometers around, because due to an impending storm all the personnel of the Arctic station were evacuated. Only eight dogs of the northern sledding breed remain on it.
At first, Sheppard and McLaren expect to return in a few days, but the storm intervenes in their plans, and after that the coming winter. Dogs themselves have to survive in the Antarctic winter for about six months. As a result, two of them die. Jack freezes, because he could not break the chain, Dewey falls off a cliff and breaks to death.
The leader of the Mayan pack is injured in a fight with a sea leopard, but she is saved by Jerry, who returns just at the moment when she needs urgent help.
Real story
The film "White Captive" was recognized by many as one of the best that year. A certain role in this was played by the fact that the story was not invented, but actually happened.
A similar misfortune happened with the Japanese expedition, which was in Antarctica in 1958. Due to the suddenly deteriorating weather conditions, team members were forced to urgently evacuate. It turned out that there was no way to pick up sled dogs of the Sakhalin husky breed. They were used in the land part of the expedition.
Dogs, as in the film, have to survive in these conditions without human help. Several polar explorers manage to return to the station only after 11 months. Of the entire pack, only two dogs actually survived.
Based on these events, the film was shot in 1983 by director Koreyoshi Kurahara. The main roles were played by Ken Takakura, Tsunehiko Watase, Eiji Okada.
Producer
The director of the movie "White Captivity" was Frank Marshall. He is also known as a producer who often collaborated with Steven Spielberg. In his career, this was the fourth directorial work, while by that time he was already a producer in several dozen paintings.
As a director, Marshall made his debut in 1990 in the parody horror film "Arachnophobia", then directed the drama "The Living" and the fantastic adventure film "Congo".
Despite the fact that the film "White Captivity" was generally appreciated positively, Marshall never returned to directing.
Paul Walker
One of the main roles in the film, an employee of the Antarctic station Jerry Sheppard, went to the American actor Paul Walker.
His career began in early childhood, when he starred in advertising for diapers. He later continued his television career. He made his film debut in 1986 in the Bob Dalin horror film "The Beast in the Closet."
Walker gained popularity after the role of Brian O'Conner in the series of crime fighters "Fast and the Furious." In 2002, he received the MTV Award for Best Screen Team with Van Diesel in The Fast and the Furious, then won the Teen Choice Awards for his most striking love story in The Fast and the Furious. In 2014, his duet with Van Diesel in Fast and the Furious 6 was again recognized as the best.
Paul Walker died in a car accident in November 2013.
Bruce greenwood
The role of university professor Davis McLaren was performed by Canadian Bruce Greenwood. The actor in the film "White Captivity" in 2006 played one of his most striking roles in his career. At the same time, his filmography is more than rich. He has been acting in films since 1977, and now continues to work, despite the fact that he is 62 years old.
His first notable work was his role in Ted Kotcheff's action movie Rambo: First Blood. After he played in the drama series "Man from Nowhere," a fantastic detective by Alex Proyas, "I, Robot," Bennett Miller’s historical drama "Capote."
In recent years, the Canadian film actor can be recalled by the sci-fi thriller J.J. Abrams "Super-8", the drama by Robert Zemeckis "Crew", the crime series "American Crime Story", the biographical drama by Peter Landesman "Watergate: The White House Crash," Steven Spielberg’s dramatic thriller Secret File.
Spectator Impressions
As we have noted, many liked the picture, they left benevolent reviews of the film "White Captivity". Viewers noted that this is the same tape that is not ashamed to recommend to friends when they ask for advice on something interesting and touching the soul.
Although the actors played an important and prominent role, still the main attention in this tape was riveted to the animals. The creators managed to show the individuality of each of the dogs, their different characters, behavior, attitude to life and the world around them. Moreover, all of them, without exception, appear before us incredibly charming. It is on them that, in fact, the whole film rests, making the audience empathize, be sad and rejoice.
In reviews of the "White Captivity," some admit that at first the picture looks very predictable. The main characters again go on a dangerous expedition, become victims of a natural disaster, but, having overcome all difficulties, they still survive. But this film is about something else. Speaking in reviews of the 2006 film White Captive, viewers acknowledge that this familiar storyline ends at the end of the first half hour. After this begins the 170-day story of cold, loneliness, anticipation and hunger.
This is a film about devotion and hope.
Negative
It should be admitted that there were a lot of negative reviews about the film "White Captive".
For part of the audience, the picture seemed too banal and superficial. In addition, the main character repels with his inaction and unwillingness to take responsibility, committing, perhaps, the most vile act in his life.
As a result, the dogs themselves were recognized as the only standing actors, who were really shot in an interesting, beautiful and soulful way. Moreover, in the development of the plot regularly had to deal with absurdities and inconsistencies, which the creators did not bother to remove.