Between sky and ice

It all started with an ad: In 1955, young Claude Lorius responded to an ad to spend a year in Antarctica with two colleagues. This set the course for a life determined by climate research. With his realization that the air bubbles trapped in the ice of the poles represent conserved samples of the atmosphere from the time in which they were trapped, Lorius revolutionized climate research and made predictions in the course of his work, all of which unfortunately arrived. Now, at over 80, the French scientist looks back on his life and work at the place where it all began, and dares to take a look into the future - a look that is unsettling but not completely hopeless.

"Between Heaven and Ice" by Oscar winner Luc Jacquet is far more than just another nature documentary. Of course, the film captivates with wonderful landscape shots and its important message about our catastrophic climate policy. Of course the moral index finger is raised several times and the warning is given, which has already been heard in so many other documentaries: If we don't act immediately, it'll be too late! But the film also has another level to offer, which makes it an extremely exciting, interesting and thrilling film.

This is achieved by the many archive shots, which Jacquet not only perfectly cut together, but also first-class dubbed. Here you really forget in some moments that you are watching a documentary film, the report about Lorius's earlier expeditions is so gripping. It doesn't matter if it's the problems caused by the drilling at extreme depth, or dicey situations like the explosion of an engine while being transported away from the research station, "Between Sky and Ice" in its best moments almost looks like a big adventure film that takes its viewers directly into the icy world of Antarctica.

A few short lengths and the sometimes disturbing comments of speaker Max Moor spoil the positive overall impression a little. But only the audiovisual processing of the great archive material and the really exciting life story of the researcher make this documentary a great cinema entertainment, which can unfold its full intensity on the big screen. And for that there is a very clear one: Absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp