Arctic

Arctic

Mads Mikkelsen plays a man stranded in the Arctic for a long time after a plane crash. When a helicopter arrives to rescue him, it crash-lands in a storm. The only survivor is a young woman in a coma. He now has to decide whether to stay in the relative safety of his makeshift camp or embark on a dangerous trek through unknown terrain in the hope of making it out alive.

Brazilian director Joe Penna, a former viral YouTuber, has teamed up with Ryan Morrison to make a John Carpenter-like film debut. The movie premiered in 2019.

With hardly any dialog or other traditional storytelling methods, they have created an incredibly compelling film clearly worthy of the greats of the survival genre. The movie has a raw intimacy that can only be achieved through integrity, sharpness and without digital effects, which is rare these days.

Mads Mikkelsen gives a great performance and excels with his rough yet human manner. He feels as natural in the role as the choice to use Iceland's vast and wild landscape as a filming location.

This is a stunning movie that proves you don't need much to create a masterpiece. To the extent that you had any problems of your own when you started watching, these quickly disappear.

Magnus Brink

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