Over the past year, we’ve been fortunate enough to feature some of the best and most thought-provoking documentaries on a series of important social issues. Beyond The Pole, thankfully though, doesn’t fall into that category. In the very best tradition of British comedy, it takes the seriousness of that genre, and, while still making a point about global warming, pokes fun at it. Even the tag-lines for the publicity campaign will put a smile on your face, with the film described as ‘Touching The Void with laughs’ or ‘Withnail and I on ice’.

As the first carbon-neutral, organic, vegetarian expedition ever to attempt to reach the North Pole, Mark (Stephen Mangan) and Brian (Rhys Thomas) have high hopes of not only doing their bit for global warming, but also, if all goes well, of getting into the Guinness Book of Records. Unfortunately, not only is this a world first but it’s a first for them too; Brian and Mark have never done anything like this before. Luckily, they are accompanied by Steve, their hardened Arctic cameraman to record their journey for a digital channel, Adventure Plus. That is, until they accidentally shoot him.

All alone on the ice, the boys are left to fend for themselves, and hadn’t reckoned on the polar bears, the competitive Norwegians, or on Mark’s rapidly loosening grip on reality. No one said saving the planet would be easy, but does it have to be this hard? Funny and subversive, it’s the story of two men trying to find their place in the world before it ends. And it asks one question of us all: how far would you go to save the planet?