It's not every movie that can manage to feel bleak and hopeless, and yet at the same time be inspiring and beautiful - but "Arctic" pulls off that difficult and unusual combination superbly. It's a very simple story, and the basic plot has been done before. Mads Mikkelsen plays the lone survivor of a plane crash in the Arctic. He's set up the shell of the plane as a makeshift survival camp, he fishes and he eats them raw, and he falls asleep and wakes up and does it again. I have to confess that the beginning of the movie was a bit of a weak point for me. It started too abruptly. There was no introduction to the character Mikkelsen was playing, no explanation of how long he had been in this situation. The movie simply opens - and he's just there. I would have liked a little bit more information than that. But Mikkelsen's portrayal of this character did draw me into the story. There's little in it that's particularly exciting - it's just the very real and raw struggle of this man to survive; it's a testimony to the human will to survive even seemingly impossible situations. The movie picks up a bit of a spark with the introduction of a second character - a young woman who survives the crash of what I assume was a helicopter sent to rescue Overgard (Mikkelsen's character's name.) She's badly injured, and Overgard becomes her nurse and companion, desperately trying to keep her alive, and finally deciding that he needs to try to hike out of this situation, dragging the young woman on a sled behind him.

The rugged barrenness of the Arctic landscape (this was filmed in Iceland) is beautiful and haunting - and it definitely adds to the hopeless feeling of the movie. Mikkelsen does a good job as Overgard. For a movie with very little dialogue between the only two characters, I thought there was a wonderful sense of that mysterious thing called chemistry between Mikkelsen and Icelandic actress Maria Thelma as the woman Overgard commits to saving. You can catch elements of other movies that influenced this story. I had thoughts of both "Alive" and "127 Hours" as I watched this. You can add pretty much any other survival type movie you can think of. So this isn't particularly original or unique, and I have to confess that a part of me really didn't want to like this for some reason. And yet it drew me in. It kept my attention. I wanted to see how this was going to end up. Mikkelsen's character - sacrificing so much and caring so much about the life of this young woman - was, indeed, inspiring.

As the beginning of the movie was rather abrupt, so too was the end of the movie. The ending was too sudden, and we learned nothing of the ultimate fate of the two characters. I've also seen so-called "survivalists" criticizing the decisions Overgard made - but not everyone is a survivalist. Perhaps Overgard simply wasn't, and made the best decisions he could in the face of impossible circumstances for which he wasn't really prepared. This is a good movie. I'd rate it as a 7/10.

If you want to watch a movie with alot of people then skip this one as there are only two actors, Mads Mikkelsen and Maria Thelma Smáradóttir. If you want great conversations then you can skip it also as it's only Mads Mikkelsen that speaks a word every now and then. But if you like survival movies, man against nature, if you like great scenic shots (okay it's the arctic so it's white but nonetheless it's beautiful) then this movie is worth watching. The biggest reason for that is Mads Mikkelsen, he did an excellent job (like usual) playing his character. And even if there are only two actors and not much interaction it still remains enjoyable to watch as there is that constant suspense of two desperate human beings balancing between life and death. I like survival movies, it always makes me think about what I would do if it was me stuck there.

After his plane crashes in the frozen Arctic, the solo pilot initially decides to stay with his plane. However, after a rescue attempt fails he is left with a badly injured person to care for, and she needs medical attention urgently. He decides to set out, with his patient, for the nearest likely source of help.

Great survival drama. Well told story by a writer-director, Joe Penna, who clearly respects the intelligence of his audience. No spoon-feeding of information, no easy outs, no unnecessary scenes. Good character engagement as we follow the adventures of the two stranded people, see their efforts to get to where they're going and will them on. The resourcefulness of Mads Mikkelsen's character helps too as you don't want all that effort and ingenuity wasted.

On that note, Mads Mikkelsen is great in the lead role. There's not much dialogue but he brings an unspoken empathy to his character, as he cares for the second person. That's one of the great things about the movie too, as it also makes you wonder what you would do in a similar situation.

Great film.