More and more, finding a movie worth seeing is becoming a real task. And, more than ever, most movies are little more than garbage.
Some — "The Glass House" and "The Musketeer," for example — treat the audience with such contempt that just sitting through them is a chore. It can leave you aching for something with a little meat, something at least a bit filling, if not satisfying.
And last weekend, in particular, after the tragic events of Sept. 11, it was especially difficult to find a worthy cinematic diversion — a movie that wouldn't insult one's intelligence or that wasn't so violent it just wouldn't play well.
So, I went looking for something out of the mainstream. Something different. Something that might hold some promise.
And I found it — the large-format 40-minute "Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure," playing in the Jordan Commons SuperScreen theater in Sandy.
"Shackleton" is a compelling documentary (although it does contain some re-creations), a real-life story of heroism, a story with built-in excitement and occasional terror, a big story led by a larger-than-life, genuine hero.
Perhaps just the kind of uplifting story we need right now . . . although it doesn't start out that way.
In late 1914, Ernest Shackleton set out to be the first man to cross the Antarctic continent on foot. He took with him a volunteer crew of 27, and though they all knew they were in for harsh living conditions for as long as it might take to explore this vast, last frontier, they had no idea what they were really in for.
As narrated by Kevin Spacey, the story unfolds chronologically: The crew sets sail on a wooden ship named, appropriately enough, The Endurance, for the uncharted Weddell Sea, and soon finds itself amid ice floes, frigid conditions and unforgiving weather that will close in on and lock up their ship . . . and, eventually, crush it to pieces.
What follows is the story of a group of men determined to survive, and of their leader — Shackleton — who is determined to see that they do.
On a technical level, "Shackleton" is remarkable, with location footage shot where the events occurred and filmed in the amazing large-format process, whose images are not just big, but crisp, sharp and real — and cold — in a way that puts you right into the experience.
Even more remarkably, all of this is juxtaposed with actual photographs and some motion-picture footage shot during this compelling early 20th century adventure.
It's a story that reaches great heights and has several climaxes, even as the story is compressed into 40 minutes, which, consequently, requires a lot of elements to go by the wayside. (For more, check out Caroline Alexander's 1998 book "The Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition.")
This story would make a great feature and perhaps an even better TV miniseries . . . which may be why Kenneth Branagh is starring as Shackleton in a new British miniseries now in production.
All of this reminded me of the many great untapped stories there are out there — real-life and fiction — while Hollywood continues to make the same films over and over.
"Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure" ain't no Schwarzenegger flick, of course. There's no Bruce Willis parachuting in to save the day. No one turned to murder or cannibalism. No one was voted off the ice floe. These 28 men came together in the name of humanity to help each other survive.
In modern terms, has there ever been more compelling television than the rescue efforts that have dominated the airwaves these past 10 days? And it quickly became evident that a lot of Americans are still respecters of God and family, even as most entertainment belittles the values so many of us hold dear.
Perhaps it's just time for a return to movies that lift us up instead of put us down.
E-MAIL: hicks@desnews.com