Endurance Review

History is all around us—it’s in the streets we walk down and in the hills off in the distance. If you’re the Endurance, your history lies at the bottom of Antarctica, waiting to be discovered. The latest documentary, directed by Natalie Hewit alongside Free Solo filmmakers Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, the film explores two expeditions: the first, the original 1914 expedition, where the entire crew miraculously survived for over a year and a half after the Endurance got stuck in the ice; the second, Endurance22, a 2022 expedition that set out to locate the sunken ship in Antarctica.

Both stories are told in parallel, and the film’s greatest strength lies in this presentation format. Early on, we see how important finding the ship is to the lead explorers. Then, we cut to the 1914 expedition, experiencing the highs of adventure and exploration into an uncharted realm of the world, and the lows where the crew performed courageous and selfless acts to survive. As the film progresses, we come to understand the significance and hope that the Endurance22 crew will find the ship that has been lost to time.

I often find documentaries overly long and lacking substance, but the parallel editing here is a simple yet highly effective way of keeping the audience engaged. The film seamlessly cuts between the two expeditions. Beyond the editing, the overall presentation is of high calibre. There are fantastic overlays that clearly identify who is speaking by showing images of the crew. It’s also incredible that even in 1914, the expedition included Frank Hurley, who recorded footage of the original journey. Watching this footage feels surreal—seeing the actual events unfold is always the best way to capture and preserve history, and it’s remarkable that this footage from 1914 still exists. The 2022 footage is equally impressive, with many shots being unbelievably vivid. Watching the enormous ship break through the ice is nothing short of awe-inspiring.

However, I do have one small issue. This might just be a personal preference, but at a certain point during the 1914 expedition segment, they included reenacted footage of the events that occurred. While these scenes are visually stunning and serve as a great storytelling aid, the use of modern filming techniques—such as helicopter shots and high-definition quality—is a bit jarring. I loved seeing the photographs and real footage from the time, so the new footage took me by surprise.

That said, this film is far from an endurance test. The pacing is incredible, making for a wonderfully informative documentary that held my attention from the opening moments to the credits. When Endurance ended, I had to check my watch because it felt like only 30 minutes had ed.

★★★★

Playing as part of the BFI London Film Festival  on October 12th and 14th/ Dr. John Shears, Nico Vincent, Mensun Bound, Dan Snow / Dir: Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chinas, Natalie Hewit / National Geographic / PG