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Netflix's Against the Ice gives you a blend of drama and documentation of the mission to secure Denmark's claim to Greenland, with a treatment that tells the story of two people struggling to survive. Directed by Peter Flinth, screenplay by Nikolai Coster-Waldau and Joe Drake based on Mikkelsen's memoirs.
The film begins with the return of an explorer to their camp "Apalma" from a failed expedition, his feet were severely frostbitten and swollen, and they had no choice but to decide to cut off his swollen toes, and this was done by his friend Mikkelsen - Nikolai Koster-Waldau - despite this Mikkelsen refuses to surrender and declare his failure in the presence of The island signs, loyal to his country and mission, but he finds none of the members of the expedition eager to complete the quest or join him, with the exception of Ever Iverson - Joe Cole - who works in the field of mechanics, but loves Mikkelsen so decides to volunteer with him, despite his insufficient knowledge of the details of the exploration.
Various dramatic narrations presented by the film in intertwined frames and mixed with great accuracy, although it was marred by some boredom as a result of one filming location, snow everywhere, a small hut made of wood, and two people only in scenes that included 80% of the events of the film, and therefore you may feel bored, which I think is intended for you The director fuses us with the feelings of the heroes and unites with them.
Many lovers in Against the Ice
Love is the greatest motive and motivator for the characters at work, and loyalty is what prompted them to make many sacrifices, even if it seemed otherwise. The first is Mikkelsen himself, who seems strict and stripped from his heart mercy or love, but on the contrary, we discover with events that he is doing all this and risking his life for His homeland, which he loves so much, and the restoration of his lands, and in fulfillment of the memory of his friend, who found him frozen under an accumulation of heavy snow, so he travels thousands of miles and his life is exposed to many dangers and almost loses his life and then almost loses his mind and goes crazy due to loneliness and loss of hope at the end of events, but love, love His beloved, who is waiting for him in the homeland, makes him try, persevere, and try to feel her, imagine her, touch her, and come close to her in his imagination, and warm his soul with hers, even if it is all a fantasy.
As for the other person who was motivated by love and affection, Iverson, a young man who fell in love with the famous explorer Mikkelsen and the stories that tell about him, and despite his lack of experience in the exploratory work, and his knowledge of the severe dangers that may surround him due to his adventure with Mikkelsen, he decided with all courage not to let the explorer down. Sad and helps him to complete his work, and when they return together and discover the departure of the members of the expedition, he does not blame Mikkelsen or try to infringe upon him, but rather has help and support in a period of time that exceeded a year in the North Pole.
The third character is Mikkelsen's girlfriend, who endured years of distance and torment away from her lover, after he traveled to the North Pole and his passion for his work, so she waited for him despite the possibility that he had already died as the expedition tried to communicate with him, but they did not find anyone in the hut - Appalma - but it was the first Waiting for him upon his return to his country with evidence of his exploration and success.
The bitterness of choice..
In one of the best narration-level dramas in the work as a whole, the one that deals with the disorientation that Mikkelsen is in after losing hope in everything, and that the expedition comes again, after the water has completed freezing and turned to ice.
Moments of torment the hero experiences between illusion and reality, and dozens of questions that flow into the mind and crush it. Was the decision right when I decided to continue the search? Was it correct to go back again to make sure that the marks I put on the first time to prove ownership of the island were safe? Was it right that I took this inexperienced young man on this business with me? And other questions were surrounding him, the most important of which was about his girlfriend, was it right to leave and leave her alone, and the makers of the work did not let these questions flow on the lips of Mikkelsen, but created them inside his mind and made us see them come out on the lips of his lover who imagines and blames him.
After the question stage, fantasies and illusions began chasing him until they led him to the edge of madness. The director created an expressive visual image of this situation, which the explorer with a high concentration reached. The director presented a number of scenes that express the state of wandering and confusion in which he lives, and scenes of his gathering with his beloved In his imagination, as he embraces and kisses her, although we see him standing alone and embracing the air, a state of contradiction expressing the hero's feeling of sadness and loss of hope of returning to his beloved.
Mikkelsen reaches the top of confusion, and mixing fantasy with reality, when he attacks Iverson, tries to kill him, chases him, and then tries to shoot him, when Iverson jokes with him about the girl that Mikkelsen imagines and tells him that she visited him in his sleep yesterday, and despite everything Mikkelsen did, Iverson does not attack him or direct He blames him for everything that they are in. On the contrary, he relieves him and helps him, because he loves him.
In my opinion, this aspect is one of the most important factors for completing watching the movie, along with the important question: Will the expedition save the explorer and his assistant or not? Because he is full of love, nostalgia and poetic which makes him even more attractive.
Politics is on the sidelines and at the heart of events
You may think that the film is not related to politics, but it is at the heart of its details, although it is not direct, but it moves the events. This mission and other many missions that were sent were aimed at preserving this land from American control, and we find that the hero repeats this talk more than once in his speech .
In 1909, Danish polar explorer Ignar Mikkelsen sets out on a mission to recover lost maps and journals of a doomed Arctic expedition to the northeastern coast of Greenland.
In 1891, explorer Robert E. Perry's outline of the east coast of Greenland and the mapping of a canal separating what he believed to be an island he called Perry Island from the mainland, allowing America to claim the island.
But in August 1909, Mikkelsen's ship got stuck in Arctic ice about 200 miles from where his ancestors were believed to have died, and according to his autobiography Two Against the Ice, Mikkelsen began the voyage with six men to discover the place, only to be abandoned when the men left him. The man and another volunteer go to continue the search, and find themselves forced to endure two winters in the Arctic, with food the men left for him before they left.
After the failure of one of the expeditions, Mikkelsen, who was known for his great patriotism and love for his country, demanded that the expedition be financed with Danish money, his government agreed to fund half the cost and allow the public to collect the rest. June 1909.
On Ignar Mikkelsen's 90th birthday in 1970, he was honored nationally by the Danish government. He died a few months later, on May 1, 1971, with the name Doe
Thank you for your review! Explorers and their adventures are truly interesting. I may need to see this movie to learn more about Millelsen. Thanks again!
You're welcome, yes it's fun