Arctic

Joe Penna’s first feature. Known on YouTube as MysteryGuitarMan, Penna wrote it with Ryan Morrison, who also cut it. The shoot was finished in Iceland in 19 days, and Mads Mikkelsen has called it the hardest of his career. The engine of the film is a decision made over a map. The direct route is short but a steep slope blocks it; after three failed attempts to haul the sled up it, he takes the long exposed way round, knowing it costs him days. The second character does not speak his language and barely speaks at all, so his only feedback is a squeeze of the hand. The film measures her condition with the instruments it uses on the weather. Overgård’s routine runs on fishing lines, mapping and a hand cranked distress beacon; when the rescue attempt fails he is left with a badly injured passenger. It played in the Midnight Screenings section at Cannes in 2018, eligible for the Caméra d’Or as a first feature; that prize went to Lukas Dhont’s Girl. A good fit if you want survival carried by rope, gradient and distance rather than explanation and backstory. Not for anyone who wants a relationship built through talk or a past explained; breath and wind stand in for dialogue, and even the rescue is left uncertain.