Zero Kelvin (1996)
Larsen, an aspiring poet in '20s Oslo, leaves his girlfriend to spend a year as a trapper in East Greenland. There he is teamed with a seemingly rough old sailor/trapper, Randbæk, and a scientist, Holm. Trapped in a tiny hut together as the Arctic winter sets in, a complex and intense love/hate relationship develops between Randbæk and Larsen, who are more similar than either would like to admit. A powerful psychological and physical drama set against stunningly bleak Arctic scenery.
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Sorry, this movie sucks
Absolutely the worst movie.
It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film
Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.
I can't give a full review of this movie. I could only watch half. After the third rabbit shot with a gun, sled dogs being whipped, one rabbit having it's head bashed against a rock to kill it and a puppy being shot I was done. I don't know how much of all of that was real but all but the puppy being shot looked horribly real.Which is sad. The story was intriguing, the characters interesting, the scenery breathtaking, I was enjoying everything else about the movie but my stomach couldn't handle finishing it for fear there would be more scenes of animal cruelty that I wouldn't be able to wipe from my memory.
As usual, I went to see this movie having heard nothing of it, which normally works best since then I am able to see it on its own premises rather than being affected by reviews or previews, and even so I was quite surprised.This film is nothing less than a well-played, well-shot psychological action/drama/thriller, and what's more, a Norwegian one even. Everything is highly believable, and the psychological development of the main character is a bit reminiscent of Espen Arnakke in Aksel Sandemose's Misery Harbour.In "Misery Harbour", however, it is a development you are made aware of and pointed to look for, whereas in "Kjærlighetens Kjøtere", it gradually dawns on you what you are seeing, which makes this a much more powerful psychological narrative.All in all, this is a rare pearl of ice, a gem of filmmaking that should not be left in its oyster, but held up to the light to be viewed in all its beauty by everyone who enjoy good movies.
This film is not for everyone. It is a pretty dark and pessimistic story and leaves you thinking for a long time after you've watched it. I had to see it several times to really understand the difficult relationship between Randbaek and Larsen. All actors are superb and the pictures of the arctic landscape are stunning. More drama than adventure.
Although that's not a bad thing, that is not exactly what the Kino Video release implies about the film. I was expecting some sort of exciting Arctic adventure story. Something fairly simple-minded, in other words.Since expectation and actualization in this case are as different as snow and ice, it's a little difficult to assess the film fairly.Suffice it to say that Stellan Skarsgård is unrecognizable as the foul-mouthed hunter. In Scandinavia, is he well known for his versatility? If he's not, he should be. Stellan is lousy in this film. I mean that literally. He's infested with lice. He's grubby. You would not want to be locked all winter in a claustrophobic room with him. His character is the heart of this drama.This may not have been the Arctic adventure I was hoping for, but then it didn't leave me cold either.The film was shot on the island of Spitzbergen (Svalbard in Norwegian), but I couldn't tell that I wasn't looking at Greenland.The last credited performer, Tinkas Qorfiq, played the part of Jane, the dog, if I'm not mistaken.