After his plane has crashed, Overgard (Mads Mikkelsen) must fend for himself in the Arctic—with little chance of survival. Writer-director Joe Penna makes a nice feature debut with Arctic, this man-against-nature story.
This could’ve been just another plane-crash aftermath movie, but Mikkelsen makes it all work with a mostly silent performance. Overgard has a nice array of expressions, like the one he makes when he catches a giant fish, or the one he makes when he crunches on some dried oatmeal—something other than fish for the first time in many days.
The plot brings in another person (Maria Thelma Smaradottir) later in the movie, but she doesn’t offer much to the goings-on. This is Mikkelsen’s movie—and that face will stick with you long after the film is over.
Arctic is available on DVD and Blu-ray as of April 30; it’s also available via online sources including iTunes and Amazon.com.