Nankyoku Ryourinin or The Chef Of South Polar is an engaging take about the life of a group of scientists thrown in a faraway post in the Antarctic region. The team of eight have different shores within their posts and they have to stay there for a little more than a year. Their story is mainly told by their easy-going appointed chef. Basically, the film shows bits and pieces of their everyday life and how they manage to survive in such a place. There’s water control, waiting for one’s role, lack of communication, shortage in certain ingredients and surely routine, cold and loneliness. The characters in this film were very well shaped. Even though the chef was the main character. Every other group member got his exposure. There was an interesting balance between their behaviours and their natural eccentric personalities. You would see a bunch of grown man doing sports activities every morning, a tantrum thrown out of nowhere or several activities to shorten the time. All while helping each other and relying on one another through various situations. The film’s strength was keeping the storyline very close home. It was humane and quite real. It’s how you would expect of a scientific team to act when they’re thrown in an isolated region. Their quirky humour and delightful situations were a great way to not make this film too melodramatic or overly sentimental. Led by the versatile Sakai Masato, the acting department was very well illustrated. The cast delivered, as they should have. They were quite faithful to their characters. It could be that the film got a little slow but it was that exact same building that made it quite delightful to follow. Plus, the funny situations made it a lot shorter than what it seems. A little warning, try not to watch this on an empty stomach. It will be a complete torture with all the delicious dishes in the film. It’s impressive how a good chef can make a variety of food with little choice of ingredients.