Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Against the Ice
2022
***
Director: Peter Flinth
Cast: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Joe Cole, Charles Dance, Heida Reed, Gísli Örn Garðarsson, Sam Redford, Ed Speleers

In 1909, explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen and an inexperienced mechanic Iver Iversen embark on a dangerous quest across the northeast of Greenland to recover the records of an ill-fated expedition. This fact-based story was co-scripted by its star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau from Mikkelsen's book Two Against the Ice. This is a captivating survival drama, which deals with isolation and perseverance, but it is as much a story about its location as it is about the people who attempt to survive in it. In the last third, the film becomes a bit of a trudge when the men patiently wait for rescue and time seems to come to a standstill, so much so that as months turn to years, even hair and beard stop growing longer.