Jeri
Jacquin
In
theatres from writer/director Joe Penna and Bleeker Street ARCTIC .
Overgard
(Mads Mikkelsen) is stranded after an airplane crash in the desolate part of
the Arctic . Living day to day he rises,
fishes, makes sure a message can be seen from the air and sits on a hill to
send out a signal to anyone who may be listening. Living inside the wreckage of
his plane is the only thing between himself and the elements.
While
sending out his usual signal, he suddenly sees a helicopter and couldn't be
more surprised. Glee turns to horror when the crafts swings out of control and
crashes to the ground. Racing towards the wreckage, Overgard discovers one
pilot dead and another, a young woman (Maria Smaradottir), still alive.
Gathering
what medical supplies are on board, he loads the young woman onto a sled and
takes her back to the plane. Returning to the wreckage, he gathers up anything
that can be used to help continue their survival. One such item is a map!
As the
days pass, Overgard continues to study the map and use the limited medical
supplies but it is clear that his patient needs more than he can provide.
That's when he makes the decision to load up and pull her to the nearest
station to find help for them both.
The trip
is long, arduous and Overgard is faced with decisions that bring him to the
breaking point!
Mikkelsen
as Overgard is a man who seems to have fallen into a day to day routine of
survival. He always keeps his safe haven of a wrecked plane within visual
distance, especially when there is a chance to encounter animals who live in
the Arctic . There is a back-story to how he
came to survive the crash but there are only glimpses of it which leaves the
rest to the viewer. Mikkelsen is a tremendous actor and I will watch absolutely
everything he is in. There is something mysterious about the way he portrays
characters and with one look he can stop the world from spinning - well, at
least in my world.
Smaradottir
as the young woman tries her best to not only communicate with Overgard but
hang on, especially when seeing all he has done to keep them both alive. Her
role is limited to be sure but each time he checks on her, it becomes clear
that there isn't much time as he pleads with her to just hold on a little
longer. That is pretty much what I was saying to myself through the entire
film!
There
isn't much dialogue in the film but then again there doesn't need to be. There
are a few moments when Overgard talks to himself that made me chuckle and there
are times when he attempts to communicate with the wounded pilot. Again that is
what makes Mikkelsen
engaging to watch, everything you want to know you need only watch his expressions,
the way he carries himself and the anger that comes with wanting to survive.
The
cinematography is absolutely breathtaking with the vastness of wilderness, the
peaks and valleys and the unforgiving moments where nature has its own way of
doing things. Each time they stopped, Overgard would MacGyver a way to bring
them shelter with the minimal supplies he dragged across the snow.
There are
many survival films but there is something extremely breathtaking about a
storyline that strips away all the trappings and forces choices that none of us
would ever want to make. Throughout the film, this character makes those
choices with every step he takes because now survival isn't just about him - he
now has a reason to continue that is about more than one person.
In the
end - survival is its own journey.
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