Sep
7
IMAX: A magical ride
Sep 2013
By Doreen Marion Gee
Three months ago, I stood spell-bound in a silent world of ice blue mountains at the bottom of the world. The genies at IMAX took me on a magic carpet ride to Antarctica and I was thrilled to the core. Soaring down through large frozen cliffs, over a cobalt ocean and into a halcyon horizon, I felt the searing cold and wind and gazed upon the beauty of a no-man's land. All around me, a human story unfolded of impossible endurance and courage against terrible odds. Then a few days ago, I climbed to the top of a mountain in Mexico where monarch butterflies swarmed and floated and danced through the air, landed in my hair and on my face while the sun sparkled through the trees. Again, I was right there - this time witnessing one of the most extraordinary migrations on earth. The magic of IMAX always transports me into another time and space, beyond the borders of my mind, on the biggest adventures of my life.
The IMAX film, Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure, opened my eyes to the heroism of a remarkable human being, Sir Ernest Shackleton. Hypnotized, I gripped the sides of my seat as I watched the tale of a man who never gave up. On an attempt to cross Antarctica, Shackleton's ship, "Endurance" was crushed in the ice. From 1914 to 1916, all 28 crew members fought isolation, bitter cold and malnutrition in the unforgiving Antarctic landscape. All of them survived because of the dogged determination of Shackleton to keep every man alive. The film interviews modern day expert climbers following Shackleton's route. With bewildered faces, they cannot explain the herculean feat of Shackleton and his men in climbing the unscaled treacherous mountains of Antarctica in regular boots and no special gear. This jaw-dropping tale is beautifully told in this IMAX film complete with old photos and stunning photography of an alien wonderland.
The Flight Of The Butterflies is also a testament to the human spirit. It is based on the real-life story of Canadian scientist Dr. Fred Urquhart (played by Gorden Pinsent), who dedicated his life to finding the destination of monarch butterflies when they migrate south every year. This IMAX film is a breathtaking love affair with the monarch butterfly. Six story high never-before-seen footage of a monarch butterfly awakening from its chrysalis took my breath away. I was up close and personal experiencing one of the most rapturous transformations in nature as a majestic orange-and-black work of art took form and took wing.
The genius of IMAX gives us a front row seat on a miracle kept secret for centuries: the resting place of hundreds of millions of migrating monarch butterflies on a remote Mexican mountain. IMAX has beautifully and gracefully captured one of the greatest natural discoveries of all time and the longest insect migration on this planet. Through the lenses of IMAX video cameras on that mountain top, I was bedazzled by an explosion of orange-and-black winged fairies on a huge screen; I could almost feel them brushing my face and almost hear them whisper, home at last. Stunning photography zeroed in on trees transformed by a thick fur coat of monarchs resting after their cross continental flight. This was not a film; it was an experience of a lifetime.
Thank you IMAX wizards and the Royal BC Museum for taking me on a magical ride through two worlds of passionate human endeavour and wild untamed natural wonder.