Review by Michael Smith (Veshengro)
A TV film of epic proportions
Broadcast on Monday, December 7, 2009 on the German ZDF television service, the so-called Second Program, from the days when there was the First and the Second only.
The title on the film, in translation, could be best transliterated as “Blood of the Glacier” and the subject matter is a glacier, climate change,, as well as greed and intrigue.
While climate change could indeed be the factor in the danger posed by the glacier and its melt portrayed in the film incidents of water pockets in glaciers have happened before and also glaciers exploding from them, causing devastation and death.
The action takes place in in the Austrian Alps in Tirol and the scenery is breathtaking. The film would, I guess, amongst some people fall under “Heimatfilm” - homeland film – and would therefore be of little interest but to discard the film thus would do it great injustice.
Climate change is basically the primary subject matter of this film, and while there may be a discussion going on as to whether or not, and here especially since “Climate Gate”, climate change is man-made, I do not think that anyone can deny that the climate of Mother Earth is changing and that Alpine glaciers in Austria, Switzerland, France and Italy, are indeed melting, and some at an alarming rate.
Gletscherblut is definitely a film that should be added to the other great films on this subject that have come out recently, such as “The Age of Stupid”, and other, and that despite the fact that Gletscherblut was made for the TV screen rather than the silver screen.
I am certain that Gletscherblut would benefit greatly from being dubbed into English (for starters) or done with subtitles and marketed to TV stations in Britain and the Americas; and with other translations into other languages as well.
DVDs for sale in German and English also, in my opinion, would be a good way to go for Gletscherblut is able to get the climate change message across in an entertaining film without being preachy and that is important.
© 2009
<>
