THE STORY – Maritime Heritage Trust locates Shackleton’s shipwrecked Endurance near Antarctica in 1915. Shackleton and 27 crew survive incredible journey to South Georgia to seek rescue after ship sinks, showcasing human resilience against all odds.
THE CAST – Ernest Shackleton, John Shears, Mensun Bound, Nicolas Vincent & Dan Snow
THE TEAM – Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin & Natalie Hewit (Directors/Writers)
THE RUNNING TIME – 103 minutes
The exploits of Ernest Shackleton, a pioneering explorer during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration of the late 1800s, and the crew of his ship, the Endurance, are the stuff of legend. Particularly well documented is the ship’s doomed final voyage, a three-masted barquentine in 1914 that saw the crew fending for themselves for the best part of a year, stranded in one of the most isolated parts of the earth amidst the outbreak of the First World War. The ship’s wreck was finally discovered in 2022 in the Weddell Sea at a depth of 3,008 meters, 5.6 miles from its final calculated location in 1915. The story garnered significant media attention the world over after many failed attempts to find its final location.
The story of the ship’s eventual excavation is now told by renowned documentary filmmakers Jimmy Chin and Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, behind the likes of the narrative feature film “Nyad,” and award-winning documentaries “Free Solo,” and “The Rescue,” alongside co-director Natalie Hewit “Endurance” tells the story of the excavation efforts, mirroring the history of Shackleton’s doomed expedition. We follow the crew of the international expedition alongside historian Dan Snow as they make their way through the Antarctic, tracking where the ship was thought to have been buried for over 100 years.
The decision to have a dual narrative following the Endurance22’s search for the wreck, coupled with the story of Shackleton and the original expedition, can feel jarring as we abruptly switch from the incredible survival story, which features some restored footage and audio, to the present-day segments. The jumps between the two are often abrupt and disrupt the flow of each segment. While we get a feel for the history of each crew member involved in the attempt to find the Endurance and what it might mean to them, the historical record is by far the most fascinating element touched on.
While the names Shackleton and the Endurance are familiar to many, the nature of the ship’s demise and the heroic efforts of the whole crew to survive from 1915 to their eventual return home in 1916 is nothing short of remarkable. The title “Endurance” applies to more than simply the ship’s name; it encapsulates the crew’s spirit, led by their fabled leader, a man at the peak of the Antarctic exploration age. The story keeps on getting more and more difficult to believe, and those unfamiliar with its intricacies will have their breath taken away by some of the details and how all the members of the crew survived the ordeal.
Knowing that the ship would be discovered robs the present segments of some of their power, and in truth, a full documentary entirely focused on the historical elements would do the story more justice, giving it a tighter focus and allowing it room to breathe. This would also help to shine a brighter light on the personality of the individual members of the crew. The stunningly restored archival footage and audio are the film’s real stars, showing some of the original footage from the ship’s cameraman and cinematographer in color for the first time and acting as a time capsule for future generations. It looks truly remarkable, reminding us of the same feeling Peter Jackson’s restored WWI documentary film, “They Shall Not Grow Old,” gave us.
“Endurance” is an important record of one of the most famous shipwrecks of its age and arguably any era, given the numerous unsuccessful efforts to find it over the years and its remote final location. It brings to attention how arduous the 28-man crew’s journey was and how stacked against them the odds of survival were. But survive, they did. “Endurance” captures Shackleton as a personality, his fierce determination to protect his crew and prove himself as a great explorer, one of the few things he felt he was good at. It also provides a vital historical record of these events many can reference for the future, allowing others to feel perhaps inspired to explore this part of history and uncover other stories that may have been lost to the sea.
Where “Endurance” falls short is in its efforts to make an informative film on the events from 1914-1916 while mirroring these with the efforts to discover the Endurance’s final resting place. In truth, these are two separate stories competing for attention, and it can often feel like there is somewhat of an impasse. Regardless, the restored footage is captivating, and when the film focuses on the resilience and human spirit of Shackleton and his men, there is a fascinating story to discover that is both inspiring and entertaining.
