An old explorer, close to freezing in the Arctic, re-lives the events that brought him there in the first place. He recalls his student days at Trinity College, Dublin, when he studied under the enigmatic Professor Orit – a man driven to madness by his obsessive pursuit of the unified theory. Convinced that the answer somehow lay in the relationship between the numbers two, three, and five, Professor Orit’s obsession began the journey which has now led his former student to the top of the world.

Teaching ideas

• In the opening scene, we see an explorer in the frozen Arctic. He is looking for someone, and in the first minute it is left up to us to decide who it is.

• The film then moves back in time as the narrator–explorer recalls his days at university in Ireland, where he studied under Professor Orit (the man who is missing in the opening scenes).

• It brings us back to the present day and the predicament of the explorer. Who will he meet? Will he ever find the professor again?

• Rewrite the monologue recounting his days in the Arctic.

• Describe the opening setting using similes, metaphors and personification.

• Use rhetorical questions for effect (e.g. Would I find him here in the icy wasteland?).

• Study the film and analyse the scene changes, the shifts in time, and the differences between the settings.

• Rewrite the film as journal entries recounting the important events.

• Write a newspaper report about the disappearance of the professor.

• Create a ship’s log for the voyage.

• Use maps to plot where the voyage would take him.

• Use show, not tell to describe features and feelings in the Arctic.

• Rewrite the ending. Perhaps the explorer accompanies the professor, who then shows him his workshop, and so on.

• Create a Captain’s Log for the voyage, listing inventory and places visited, and then chronicle his way across the icy wastes.

Maths links

• • Try out some algebra and record the results.

  • Look for patterns in prime numbers and in nature.

  • Link to the Golden Ratio (see reference link).

  • Investigate the insulating properties of materials that the professor could use in his polar dwelling.

Creator's website

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Age 7-9 lesson planning for this film