critical against ice [Netflix]

Direction: Peter Flint | Scenario: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Derrick | to throw: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Ejnar Mikkelsen), Joe Cole (Iver Iversen), Charles Dance (Neergaard), Gísli Örn Garðarsson (Jörgensen), others | Playtime: 102 minutes | Year: 2022

More than a century ago we would have mapped the largest parts of our planet. Only in the most inhospitable parts was it not yet known how landmasses were formed. Greenland was one such region. The Danes undertook a number of expeditions to prove that the most remote and coldest part of Greenland was also theirs. The last of these daring expeditions was led by Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen. He wrote a book about his chilling adventure that is still worth making into a movie decades later.

Mikkelsen is sent to find one of his predecessors. Perhaps nothing more than an honorable burial, but also, hopefully, to obtain evidence of the Danish claim to all of Greenland. The United States claims that a northern part of Greenland is not attached to the Danish rest and therefore does not have to be Danish. Mikkelsen will find something, but for truly conclusive proof he will have to travel for several months across the icy plains, into the snow-white interior. His crew is in no rush to join them, except Iver Iversen, the rookie.

With this inexperienced technician above the Arctic Circle, the somewhat grumpy captain sinks into the Arctic Circle. Along the way, the two encounter danger and inconvenience on their canned dog sleds, until they finally find, emaciated and badly battered, the documents Denmark had sent them for. Writing about it would have been a huge spoiler for most movies, but not for Against the ice† After all, finding evidence is one thing, securing it is another. Returning alive to the waiting ship and then to Denmark proves a huge challenge, as does keeping the peace along the way.

The chilling drama weaves these stories together without losing sight of the bigger story. That finding frozen documents is far from the end of the film, any attentive viewer understands after a quick glance at the clock. Stories of lingering loneliness and extreme isolation, whether in space, underground, or in the snow, benefit from slow storytelling. There is no real narrative structure in which loneliness and despair slip between the two and the viewer. The demolition journey across the Arctic often seems rushed.

When the real sorry desperation is nonetheless left out, there seems to be enough zest in the film. There is still enough between the seasoned veteran and the young enthusiast to be able to tell in the silent moonscape. The first half of Still ice cream, where everything was to be done and everything was hoped for, turned out to be just one long introduction. The part about where and why Mikkelsen’s story appeared in book form years later is yet to come. It is worth sitting down well, preferably under a warm blanket.

Against the ice can be seen at netflix†