It doesn’t take long for Joe Penna’s “Arctic” to establish itself as one of the best movies ever made about a man stranded in the wilderness. In fact, there’s a small but crystalline moment in the first act (some 15 or 20 minutes in, maybe) when this hellishly cold portrait of human endurance claws ahead of the pack and never looks back.

The context is easy to describe — the conflict frozen across Mads Mikkelsen’s face is not. The Danish star, throwing himself into an Iceland shoot that could probably make for a compelling survival story unto itself, plays a downed pilot named Overgård. The nearly wordless film starts at some point after his plane has crashed into a deep…

Arctic is the survival sub-genre done right. Joe Penna’s directorial debut is a tense, gripping film about a man, named Overgård, stranded in the arctic. Sounds simple enough, it is, but it’s done so well.

Arctic works because it’s so believable, the characters and the threats they face feel so real. This is part due to Mads Mikkelsen’s performance as Overgård. He is fantastic, conveying so much through facial expression alone. Overgård was a likeable and relatable character which added to the realism.

There isn’t a great deal of dialogue or fleshing out of characters in Arctic (risky but works here). In this sense, it reminded me of Dunkirk. The characters motivation and emotions weren’t over-explained. This forces more attention…

Effective survival drama that I feel like I might be overrating slightly due to Mads' amazing performance.

He's one of my favourite actors, so spending 90 minutes with the guy in the middle of the Arctic is like heaven to me.

Still, even if I wasn't such a huge fan, this is a great, detailed acting showcase.

Conveys so much through so little - his beautiful eyes and wind battered face stare right through your soul.

It's pretty typical, though it does have some interesting flourishes - Mads been the cause of a major event early on was a surprise, and the usual fake outs are pretty satisfying.

There's also an amazing 'action scene' partway through that will ruin Christmas…

Arctic is the survival sub-genre done right. Joe Penna’s directorial debut is a tense, gripping film about a man, named Overgård, stranded in the arctic. Sounds simple enough, it is, but it’s done so well.

Arctic works because it’s so believable, the characters and the threats they face feel so real. This is part due to Mads Mikkelsen’s performance as Overgård. He is fantastic, conveying so much through facial expression alone. Overgård was a likeable and relatable character which added to the realism.

There isn’t a great deal of dialogue or fleshing out of characters in Arctic (risky but works here). In this sense, it reminded me of Dunkirk. The characters motivation and emotions weren’t over-explained. This forces more attention…

Arctic is the absorbing story of a man's instinct for survival under extreme adversity.
After his plane crashes, Overgård's (Mads Mikkelsen) instincts for survival kicks in and he tries all he can in the harsh bleak arctic landscape to survive and be rescued. We never find out how long he's been out there but it is apparent it is weeks or months rather than days due to the length of his beard. His daily routine is to clear his SOS sign of snow, attempt a rescue by using a piece of technology that detects aircraft nearby and fish for arctic trout. His routine is put in jeopardy but I will leave it there so as not to spoil your enjoyment…

Joe Penna has made a riveting, intense and ethereal survival film that needs hardly a word to emotionally invest us with Arctic. Overgard (Mads Mikkelsen) has no explained backstory, with the film dropping us in some time after a man has begun a set routine to survive after crashing in the harsh and beautiful arctic. He sets up fishing lines, cranks a signal box, and pays respects to another passenger who seemingly died in Overgard’s crash. When a helicopter crashes trying to rescue him, leaving one incredibly injured survivor played by Maria Thema Smáradóttir, Overgard must care for her and decide whether to risk it all by venturing out from his camp to find help.

A film with such a…