Arctic

After his plane crashes in the frozen Arctic, the solo pilot initially decides to stay with his plane. However, after a rescue attempt fails he is left with a badly injured person to care for, and she needs medical attention urgently. He decides to set out, with his patient, for the nearest likely source of help.

Great survival drama. Well told story by a writer-director, Joe Penna, who clearly respects the intelligence of his audience. No spoon-feeding of information, no easy outs, no unnecessary scenes. Good character engagement as we follow the adventures of the two stranded people, see their efforts to get to where they're going and will them on. The resourcefulness of Mads Mikkelsen's character helps too as you don't want all that effort and ingenuity wasted.

On that note, Mads Mikkelsen is great in the lead role. There's not much dialogue but he brings an unspoken empathy to his character, as he cares for the second person. That's one of the great things about the movie too, as it also makes you wonder what you would do in a similar situation.

Great film.

I usually like watching these types of 'survival' movies even though they always have the same plot, events and almost everything else is similar. This movie did not have any surprising elements that I hadn't seen before, but for some reason I didn't feel bored while watching it. I enjoyed it quite a lot even though you can expect what's coming. I think it's all because of the perfect performance of the actor. It's not a masterpiece, but it sure is worth your time. A great movie really.

This survival movie consisted of many many elements of other survival movies we've seen such as Cast Away and 127 hours but it felt new. I couldn't pin point why the movie didn't feel boring or overdone even though I'd seen some of the plot point before. It all lies in Mads Mikkleson's character. In every other movie we watch and cringe at the survivalist doing everything wrong but pushing on in spite of it. In Arctic, Mads does everything right. He clearly has survival training and is putting his knowledge to good use. He should be able to get help no problem, but despite all his efforts, it's the world that keeps tearing him down, not his ignorance as we see in so many other survival movies. We route for him and grieve when it doesn't go his way because we know he's doing absolutely everything by the book but it's just not going his way.

It's also incredible how Mads says the same few sentences over and over and it means something different every time he says it. There's so much emotion and meaning behind his few words.

Patient, persistent & poignant in just the right doses, and powered by Mads Mikkelsen's effortlessly evocative performance, Arctic is one of the best films about a man stranded in the wilderness that's crafted with restraint, told with finesse & is incessantly captivating from start to finish. A promising debut for its first-time filmmaker, and another impressive addition to the Danish actor's oeuvre.

If you want to watch a movie with alot of people then skip this one as there are only two actors, Mads Mikkelsen and Maria Thelma Smáradóttir. If you want great conversations then you can skip it also as it's only Mads Mikkelsen that speaks a word every now and then. But if you like survival movies, man against nature, if you like great scenic shots (okay it's the arctic so it's white but nonetheless it's beautiful) then this movie is worth watching. The biggest reason for that is Mads Mikkelsen, he did an excellent job (like usual) playing his character. And even if there are only two actors and not much interaction it still remains enjoyable to watch as there is that constant suspense of two desperate human beings balancing between life and death. I like survival movies, it always makes me think about what I would do if it was me stuck there.