Arctic Review — JackScholtz.com

Arctic was a movie that fascinated me from the first I heard of it. A survival story starring one of my favorite actors, Mads Mikkelsen, what more did I need to get me excited for this flick? That's when I learned it was directed by one of my inspirations back in the early days of YouTube, Joe Penna, who I knew as MysterGuitarMan. Most of the short films I made in my high school's video class were just my interpretations of his editing style to the music, and to see him move on to make this real Hollywood movie blew my mind.

The movie itself is nothing like any of his previous videos I watched, which is a great thing because it would be strange if it turned into a music video after 5 minutes. What we have in Arctic is one of the most honest depictions of survival I have ever seen on film. We are dropped into this world following a nameless character that has already been surviving for weeks (maybe months) before the film even starts. This lead character, portrayed with empathy and layers magnificently by Mads Mikkelsen, is going through the mundanity of just surviving a day at a time. This was a brilliant decision because we have seen the "Oh shit, I have been thrown in this awful scenario and have to survive" a million times, and rather than seeing that initial panic and scramble, we see the composure and near hopelessness of being stranded for an extended period of time. He is also treating a woman that has suffered a terrible injury, and the bulk of the film is him finally abandoning his semi-safe shelter and head for anywhere else with even the slightest possibility of saving this woman's life.

What ensues is a grand adventure, with huge, wide sweeping shots of the Arctic. For every scene that emphasizes the beauty of this untouched land, there is another than unravels how brutal and unforgiving the conditions are that far North. Every step is a struggle, and nothing ever goes according to plan, and it's in these moments where Mads' character has to come up with something on the fly. So much of the movie is the slow tender moments and Mikkelsen fills them with so much heart and emotion, he is silent for so much of the movie but his eyes do all the talking. When he knows something went wrong that was his fault, we can see the extra weight burden him, paralyzed with guilt. Not many actors can demand the screen in the manner he does here, and he really shines.

The film is accompanied by a somber score, that complements the tone of the film perfectly. It is very slow, but deliberate, always driving forward towards an end goal. The last star of the film is the cinematography, making a bunch of snow a visually stimulating, and different enough landscapes that every location feels unique. A nice combination of stationary camera and handheld to really add the extra punch of uncertainty of the future fate of our characters. Overall, if you are a fan of survival and snow than this is a movie I cannot recommend enough. This is the first must-see movie of 2019 for me.