Survivre

This film is based on a real life drama where an Icelandic fishing vessel sinks and 5 crew are drowned. The 6th member of the crew survives hours in bitterly cold sea and swims miles to an island where he is rescued. The acting is brilliant and a realistic portrayal of the fisherman's ordeal. I also liked the before and after build up of the main character's lifestyle and the setting of Icelandic folk living in basic and difficult conditions but sharing a camaradie and kinship. Scientists were baffled as to how this apparently unfit man survived the extreme conditions and he became something of a celebrity and underwent investigative tests in America and UK. In the end he returned to his old ways of life but I think as a wiser and better man. He was a simple hardworking regular guy who survived extreme conditions through metabolism but also his dogged determination. I found it particularly moving to see footage of the real life person.

Even as a viewer and even though you might feel at times like it, I'm pretty sure you won't be able to quit. And while that is not nearly as impressive as what you'll see in the movie (and after the movie is over, even in the special features of your disc hopefully), the movie shows you what endurance is about.

While there are no clear answers to some questions, the movie has a strong will just as one main character also does. You might feel indifferent in the middle of it (like another reviewer wrote), but I'm pretty sure you won't be by the end of the movie. It's just impossible not to be impressed by what actually did happen. Very well played and very well shot indeed

fine movie and its about something that actually happened although its probably not exactly the same. but to the reviewer that doesn't know anything about fishermen or life in small town in iceland, they are hung over because they were coming from a dance the night before and this is just how it was here and changed only few years ago, those didn't have much life outside of work so they drank a little more but at least they went and met other people in a bar instead of today where most people just drink at home. and the guy never said he was a hero, but he did safe himself and swim to shore in very difficult situation where most people had died, and he hasn't had a great life after this. but the movie shows how life was in iceland in those years and is very realistic doing that. but there are always some people that think they know better then others or how things happened. even people giving movies bad reviews because people are smoking or some stupid things like that, and movies can be good even if you don't like the drinking or whatever is happening in them. just watch it and try what you would have done.

An amazing tale of survival with a strong performance by Ólafur Darri Ólafsson in the main role of Gulli.

This ties for the coldest a film has ever made me feel - along with Norway's The 12th Man. The whole ordeal is made the more harrowing by the true story angle.

It features some incredible cinematography. The Icelandic landscapes and scenery were breathtaking. The ocean shots really magnified the sense of loneliness and sheer odds against Gulli.

The scientific angle in the latter half of the film was interesting, though broke some of the momentum. In this sense, it felt like two films rolled into one. I liked how things came a bit full circle in the last few scenes though.

A solid (while not amazing) Icelandic film that I recommend to those into survival stories.

This film has the air of a docu-drama, and I believe it sticks closely to real events. The drama is gripping though - it's an amazing story of survival and the gruelling ordeal which the fisherman Gulli went through in the North Atlantic. Amazingly, it was almost light-hearted and there is no lack of humour although it was a tragic story as well.

I was wondering in advance whether this would be a frightening film, but it wasn't. Every person portrayed appeared real and it was easy to identify with them. The story of Gulli's miraculous survival, followed by the reaction of the media and scientists kept my interest.

I'm a scientist and so I was fascinated by the implications of the physiology of this man and how he adapted to extreme exposure to cold temperatures. I presume that other people who find sub-zero temperatures easy to deal with may also have adaptations, and science needs to find out more. No one can know how they will react until they are in a life or death situation. Gulli's matter-of-fact response was incredible.

The other thing which impressed me was the authenticity of the settings, the scenery of the sea and the Icelandic islands. It was beautifully shot. Authentic news footage of the eruption of the volcano on the Westman Islands was included, and new scenes with the actors blended seamlessly with that. I have been to Iceland and watched films about that eruption, so I recognised this. I've also walked on a lava field on Iceland, but I was fortunate to be wearing walking boots. I can't imagine walking on that surface barefoot for hours.

I was captivated by this film and I recommend it - very inspiring and informative on so many levels.