Beyond the Pole (2009)

Two men with more ambition than sense set out to cross the arctic in this mock-documentary comedy. Mark Bark-Jones (Stephen Mangan) and Brian Tongue (Rhys Thomas) are a pair of environmental activists who've decided to take their own slogan "Don't Be Impotent, Be Important" to heart by staging an event that will attract attention to their campaign against global warming. Mark and Brian are determined to stage the first carbon-neutral journey to the North Pole, with the vegetarian hikers making the journey entirely under their own power and with only organically produced supplies. Mark and Brian know next to nothing about hiking through the frozen wastes, so it's fortunate that a filmmaker (Helen Baxendale) has decided to document their journey, and the cameraman she's hired, Steve (Clive Russell), has the know-how they lack. As the two hikers bumble their way across the snow and ice, with just one guy with a HAM radio (Mark Benton) serving as their support crew, they struggle to do their bit for the environment, through Mark seems to be just as interested in personal glory and their families are convinced they're crazy. Things only get worse when Mark and Brian discover another pair of "green" hikers from Norway are also making their way to the pole, and with greater speed. Beyond The Pole was an official selection at the 2010 Palm Beach International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi