Posted at 9:30 a.m.
Bringing to the screen a screenplay inspired by historical facts that Nikolaj Coster-Waldau and Joe Derrick wrote based on the story of Arctic explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen, Danish director Peter Flinth offers an adventure film of enough nice outfit.
Focusing more on the contemplative aspect of a story where the action lies above all in the efforts made by two men to evolve for a long period in a rather hostile environment, Against the Ice (Lost in the arctic in the French version) applies above all to the environment in which it takes place. The spectacular arctic landscapes are also magnificently filmed.
This feature film, in which Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game Of Thrones) and Joe Cole (Eye on Juliet, by Kim Nguyen) hold the main roles, also has historical value, insofar as the story echoes a real expedition that took place in northeast Greenland in 1909. At that time, Captain Eljnar Mikkelsen (Coster -Waldau) and Iver Iversen (Cole), a novice member of his crew, set off again in search of explorers who had missed their mission three years earlier. The challenge is to prove the entirety of a territory managed by Denmark, part of which is disputed by the American government.
If the special effects sometimes turn out to be much too apparent (the scenes involving polar bears sometimes border on the ridiculous), this road movie sledding on icy roads nevertheless reserves some good moments of suspense. It is also carried by the solid performances of the two actors.
Presented out of competition in Berlin in the Berlinale Special section, Against the Ice (Lost in the arctic in French version) is offered exclusively on Netflix.
Thriller
Against the Ice
(VF: Lost in the arctic)
Peter Flinth
Starring Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Charles Dance
1:42