Encounters at the End of the World

Werner Herzog travels to Antarctica, where he meets the people who live and work at McMurdo Station, a research center at the edge of the continent. He interviews scientists such as Clive Oppenheimer, a volcanologist, and Doug MacAyeal, a glaciologist, as well as philosophers and researchers. Herzog explores the dreams and lives of the people at the station, including a penguin scientist who leaves his colony to wander into the vast, mountainous interior of the continent. Along the way, he captures footage of the continent's unique landscapes, including active volcanoes, iceberg geology, and ice caves formed by fumaroles.