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6 of 7 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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