Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Volume 36, Number 4. 21st March 1973

Desolation

Desolation

The stirring story of the Nobile attempt to land a zeppelin on the North Pole and its subsequent failure made excellent reading every time it appeared in the Boys Annual: the slightly more grandiose version of which 'The Red Tent' consists makes equally good viewing. The melodramatic story line is not without inconsistencies in the incidental detail, nor is it without some rather predictable moralizing; nonetheless it is strong enough, and appealing enough to overcome these momentary difficulties. More than this however, it provides ample opportunity for some stunning footage of the desolate arctic wastes, and for some delightful character acting from a bevy of enthusiastic Italian actors. With Peter Finch performing with customary aplomb in the major role, the film scrapes up enough substance to overcome any charges of vacuity, and goes on to reach the standard of such gilt-edged epics as Zulu and Khartoum. One may be suspicious of much of the motivation attributed to the characters, especially that of Amundsen, and the disorganised efforts to explain it away with psychological jargon, bul this is only to quibble. The sullen grandeur of the Arctic, and the comfortable familiarity of the proceedings (we all know what it means to be lost; in an adventure story at least); taken thus, on its own grounds, the film makes both sense and plenty of fun.