Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: AGAINST THE ICE [Berlinale 2022]
The idea of survival or more specifically risking existence for the case of the better good of country than self is something explorers have taken into play for years (centuries in fact). "Against The Ice" (Berlinale Special Gala) (which is a Netflix film) was written and stars Nikolaj Coster-Waldau of "Game Of Thrones" fame playing a different character in the search of idealism despite hardships. Here he plays Captain Mikkelsen, part of a second wave of explorers in the Arctic Circle in a race to prove that one part of Greenland is not indeed an island thereby retaining the land for the Danes. The Americans are also trying to claim it (this film takes place in 1909). The beginning of the film sets the pace but it is really a two hander between the Captain and the mechanic Iverson who is the only one who volunteers to goes on what seems like a suicide mission to find proof from a previous expedition. The evidence they need is stored in a rock can 500 miles away from where their boat is stuck in ice.
Iverson is played by Joe Cole with wonderful naivete, wit and joy while Coster-Waldau plays Mikkelsen with a gruffness that hides a heart but with some conflict. Watching him you think of Aragon (Viggo Mortensen) in "Lord Of The Rings"). Like Liv Tyler, Heida Reed brings a luminescence as Naja which is what makes the film sing in Mikkelsen's reactions to her. It might be cliché but it is a crux of explorers. Like the Jedi, personal connection is discouraged but it is that pull that drives people forward. That, in writing the screenplay and then playing the lead character while allowing someone else to direct the film) is a true strength of the film was done and which Coster-Waldau knew how to play. It is not overdone, it creates romance, it creates sadness and it also creates conflict. Shooting in Greenland doesn't hurt either but it is that push and pull between the mission and humanity that defines the film into the final minutes. It is not a new story overall, details might be different but it serves its characters especially Mikkelsen well because the journey does change him, even if he knew where his path was laid in the beginning. B+
By Tim Wassberg
