Review: Arctic
- Feb 2, 2019
- 2 min read
Directed by Joe Penna
Starring: Mads Mikkelsen
The plot follows a man stranded in the Arctic who misses his chance at rescue.
A film I wanted to watch since I heard it premiered at Cannes Film Festival. Now that it has finally released in theaters, I knew I had to see it, especially since it stars one of my favorite actors of all time, Mads Mikkelsen. As expected, the film was pretty good.
The plot was straight forward and good. With many survival films in the industry, I was afraid this film was going to be predictable and cliched, but this film was actually fresh and unique to separate it from the other survival films. One aspect I liked about the plot is that it chose to be in the middle of the main character's survival in the arctic, instead of showcasing how he got there in the first place. We already can tell that Mad's character was there for quite a while, and he's got himself organized with alarms and different things to do during the day. We don't know much about his character, other than he is extremely organized and his name is Overgard, which is really great considering how much you care about his well being without actually knowing anything about him, which can't be said for films such as Cast Away and The Martian).
Mads Mikkelsen was fantastic as expected, and carried this film with his great performance. This film reminded me of Robert Redford in his film "All is Lost", which has similar survival film aspects. The other character was pointless, to the film, other than being extra weight for Mads to carry, and a plot device to drive the story forward. I loved the lack of dialogue in the film. This could have been a huge risk, but thankfully Mads Mikkelsen is known for his expressive body language. You can tell what kind of emotional state Mads is in, with his facial features such as his eyes (This can be seen in any of his other films, such as The Hunt). Thus makes the film both emotional and powerful, and with the lack of characterization and dialogue, that's pretty impressive.
The visuals were really good. The cinematography was fantastic and beautiful, and reminded me a lot of The Revenant, with it's long wide and tracking shots in the snow. Sounds were good, especially the watch's alarms which indicate how Mads's character is on a tight schedule. The music is gripping and adds to the tension of the film, as well as emotionally emphasizes it.
In conclusion, another great performance by Mads Mikkelsen, and a unique survival film indeed. Mads Mikkelsen needs more lead roles, and this film proves why. If this film is your local theater, I definitely recommend you go and see it. You will not regret it.
My rating: 8.0/10
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