6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Tremendous Psychological Adventure Thriller!!!, February 4, 2004
Moller scores extremely high points once again with Zero Kelvin. Although the movie is supposed to take place in remote, brutal Greenland, the movie was actually shot in remote, brutal Svalbard, Norway.
Moller is particularly adept and assembling, perfectly managing , and directing exceptional actors. Skarsgard is more than first rate as the menacing, moody, sociopathic, and vicious Randbaek. This is certainly a departure from some of Skarsgard's more well known characters, and this role demonstrates his range and amazing abilities to present a multitude of characters in vastly different circumstances.
Gard Eidsvold is superb as a relatively innocent and decent man who is plunged into harsh reality and forced to adapt to survive. His character represents truth, decency, and love, but also represents what men are capable of in dire and seemingly hopeless circumstances where evil rules and goodness is fleeting.
Bjorn Sundquist, one of Norway's best actors, is great as the analytical, no nonsense, experienced scientist. He functions as the mediator between Skarsgard's and Eidsvold's contrasts, but is himself forced to take drastic measures in extreme circumstances.
This is a great film which combines extreme psychological contrasts and contradictions, beautifully filmed landscapes, and the brutal reality of sub zero temperatures where basic survival is the goal. In short, it is a harrowing game of psychological and physical survival with a lot of twists and surprises. Some of the hunting scenes, particularly the scene involving a nasty walrus, are amazing. The sledding with teams of amazingly stout and rugged sled dogs in extremely dangerous and perilous conditions are perhaps unprecedented.
I gave the movie 4 stars for a few reasons. First, although sled dogs and animals are a commodity in the brutal world of the North, I thought the cruelty was a bit overdone. I think a few scenes could've been eliminated. I'm not an animal rights activist, but once again, just a few scenes should've been left out. Second, Skarsgard's performance is tremendous, but I also thought the production went a little too far with some of Randbaek's violent and sexual rantings. We got the point that Randbaek was a vicious, disturbed sociopath, and the character was developed quite well, but we didn't need to have it reiterated all the time.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A very fine psychological thriller, November 6, 2010
This film has a relatively limited cast - for the bulk of the film there are only three characters. The essence of the film is how these three characters interact when forced to live together in Greenland. Two are fur trappers who are jaded to the arctic, and have interesting, and somewhat peculiar backgrounds. The third is a writer from Oslo seeking to gain experience for his writing.
Slowly the misalignments of character traits grows, and the tension builds. It is a wonderful study of how vastly different backgrounds and personalities can drive people to extremes that one would not otherwise expect.
Over all of this is the magnificent sweeping grandeur of Greenland. Possibly a film better suited to the big screen (where I saw it), but it being so unlikely that you'll get the chance, you may as well reward yourself with the DVD.
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3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Zero Kelvin - a rare, and authentic work, September 17, 2002
This review is from: Zero Kelvin [VHS] (VHS Tape)
In 1995 while reading the New York Times I saw a review for a movie called Zero Kelvin. I think more out of curiosity about the name I began to read it. Kelvin is a temperature scale whose "zero" equals -271 celsius. An allusion to the world in which the story takes place. Set in Greenland, it is the story of 3 men and the forces both from their pasts and from within which collide in a squalid hunting cabin by the sea. Stellan Skarsgard is the "foreman" of the group and they are charged with doubling the previous season's pelt quota. The two experienced men are joined by a writer who hires on for the experience, but does not count on the realities he finds there. The realities not just of the environment, but also of drunkenness, brutality, his own character flaws and the near edge of madness at which the leader of the group is poised.
A bit of a punk, and unable to forgive perceived wrongs - Larsen, the writer - refuses the opportunities he's given to make peace with the other two men and the anger and mutual retributions are explosive. Finally, their passions lead to all out war with tragic and final results. This has been billed as the thinking man's adventure, which it certainly is. There is psychological and gut-level tension here, finely acted by this ensemble cast. If Jack London or Hemingway suit your tastes, then this fine film will not disappoint. - JK -
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