SummaryA man stranded in the Arctic after an airplane crash must decide whether to remain in the relative safety of his makeshift camp or to embark on a deadly trek through the unknown in hopes of making it out alive.
Directed By:Joe Penna
Written By:Joe Penna, Ryan Morrison
Arctic
Metascore
Generally Favorable
71
User score
Generally Favorable
6.9
My Score
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Metascore
Generally Favorable
71
84% Positive
27 Reviews
27 Reviews
16% Mixed
5 Reviews
5 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
May 14, 2018
83
Arctic works because it’s so believable. The movie never cheats or takes shortcuts.
User score
Generally Favorable
6.9
70% Positive
65 Ratings
65 Ratings
25% Mixed
23 Ratings
23 Ratings
5% Negative
5 Ratings
5 Ratings
Feb 22, 2019
10
Mads Mikkelsen - one of the most severe men on the planet. I imagined that this man first played Gopnik in the “Dealer” trilogy, then rose to the level of the gods, and literally got Odin in Valgalle, and then almost killed, for a minute, James Bond, and now this guy understands Kojima's stories . So that! Mikkelsen had to eat "Doshirak" in a dry breadboard. Doshirak. In dry breadcrumbs Brrr! Lost in Ice is a kind of unique film. Remember “127 hours” - the husband was also in an extreme situation, for about ten minutes, survival is depicted, and the family is soon recalled. Urine, yes. He needs to show that he wants to survive.
Feb 18, 2019
10
A superb film starring Mads Mikkelson that held my attention from beginning to end. The main character is “marooned” in the arctic via a small plane crash. After some time passes, a helicopter goes down nearby (while perhaps looking for him). A woman survives, but barely, and he nurses her, even though she is barely conscious. He finds a map in her wreckage (along with a picture of her family), and he decides to try to get her some help since she is in much worse shape than he is. He starts on a incredible journey, pulling the woman on a sled through the snow and taking care of her as best he can. This does not seem like much of a film, but Mikkelson, a great actor, makes it riveting. I won’t spoil it for you by telling you what happens on the journey or at the end, but the experience is very emotionally involving and I found myself completely enveloped by the situation, the bleak scenery, and the dire predicament of the characters. A great film, and one of the absolute best I have seen this year.
Jan 30, 2019
80
Somehow, despite that minimalistic approach, we are emotionally swept up in Overgård’s desperate fight to stay alive.
Feb 13, 2019
67
It does not reinvent the wheel (or, more aptly, sled runner) but it's a tale that survives the retelling.
Jan 30, 2019
63
The film has a raw immediacy that can only be achieved when most cinematic excesses have been eliminated.
May 17, 2018
58
The simplicity of the film is commendable, but it’s only in the last act where things finally come together and any kind of visceral thrills arrive far too late. Even Mikkelson’s on-screen talents can’t save an admirable yet stagnant film in dire need of a heartbeat.
Jun 26, 2019
9
A wild candidate for most underrated film of 2019 has appeared and it comes in the form of first-time feature director (and YouTube star) Joe Penna's "Arctic," an incredibly simple, yet effective parable of survival, perseverance, and the limits of the human spirit. Zipping into the heights of memorability on the wings of what I'd consider Mads Mikkelsen's finest performance as an actor, this amazingly well shot and thought-out film definitely tests the thresholds at which the audience can stand to see a character suffer. It's an agonizing effort at times, but trust me when I say that the overall ride is more than worth it, not only proving the directorial talents of the first-timer in question, but the unmitigated effectiveness behind the KISS principle that he adheres to so brilliantly throughout the film's runtime.
Apr 21, 2019
6
Stranded in the cold, been done before. Beautiful imagery but somewhat bleak story. The traditional, mostly predictable, ingredients are in there. Still, the acting of the main character is good enough to prevent the movie from becoming painful to watch.
Feb 26, 2019
6
Movies have been made before with people stranded in the bleak, unforgiving cold (most recently, The Mountain Between Us). Since this one is European (made in Iceland), it eschews some of the traditional plot points and places Mads Mikkelsen in the frozen tundra with no explanation of why he crashed or where he is. A failed rescue attempt prompts him to leave the relatively safe shelter of his crashed plane and make the perilous trek thru the snow for help. Like this basic plot point, there are several weakly-conceived motivations that push credibility. Still, the struggle has its share of painful setbacks and Mikkelsen's perfomance makes it effective. The massive amounts of white are beautifully captured and composed by cinematographer by Tómas Örn Tómasson.
Dec 21, 2025
5
A plane crashed in the arctic but no one knows why and there is one survivor. He tries to survive and even tries so rescue another person which had also a crash with a helicopter. So far so good. But over 1.5 hours walk simulator with here and there a bit action is not enought nowadays. I mean if it would had been at least a real story, then okay, but as a fictituois story it's just something.
Mar 18, 2020
1
Malgré le toujours excellent Mikkelsen (il n'y peut rien le pauvre, il est bon partout, quoi qu'il arrive, y compris quand il se gèle le cul) malgré ce sacré Mads donc, ce film-catastrophe de survie dans l'enfer glacé s'avère vraiment... catastrophique. En étant déjà très indulgent, on peut tenir presque une heure sans trop regarder l'heure ou le temps qu'il fait, ce qui n'est -déjà- pas si mal me dira-t-on mais on s'emmerde quand même un peu trop là-dedans, si vous voulez mon avis ! Le pîre, c'est qu'il reste une bonne grosse demi-heure, générique mis à part, durant laquelle on continue de s'emmerder... malgré le grand Danois qui continue de se geler les couilles. Mais il y a pire que s'emmerder à ce point cependant... il y a aussi dans ce film des incohérences, des invraisemblances assez monstrueuses qu'on peut enfiler comme des perles et en faire un collier entier... tu le veux, mon collier d'incohérences ? tiens, c'est cadeau ! En bref, c'est pas complètement nul à chier mais presque !
Production Company:
- Armory Films
- Union Entertainment Group
- Pegasus Pictures
- The Domain Group
Release Date:Feb 1, 2019
Duration:1 h 38 m
Rating:PG-13
Tagline:Survival is its own journey.
Awards
Edda Awards, Iceland
• 3 Nominations
Golden Trailer Awards
• 2 Nominations
Cannes Film Festival
• 1 Nomination
