Susan Granger’s review of “Against the Ice” (Netflix)
In 1909, Danish Captain Ejnar Mikkelsen (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and an inexperienced volunteer, young mechanic Iver Iverson (Joe Cole), set off across Greenland’s harsh permafrost to retrieve a map left by a previously doomed expedition. It will serve as ‘land dispute’ evidence that the territory of Greenland belongs to his native Denmark, not the United States.
The original expedition, led by Ludvig Mylius-Erichsen, sought to confirm or contest the findings of American explorer Robert Peary, who claimed that a channel, named Peary Channel, separates northeast Greenland from the mainland and that part of the territory is closest to the North American continent.
Problem is: they have to trudge across thousands of miles of Arctic ice to get it, a grim journey described as the equivalent of “walking from Moscow to Rome.”
Once they locate the cairn in which the map is buried, confirming that Greenland is one solid island, they battle extreme hunger and fatigue trying to cross the vast landscape to return to their ship – only to discover it has been crushed and their crew has abandoned them. Hoping to be rescued, they then must strive to stay alive.
It’s difficult to make 865 days on the ice into a psychological thriller, but it does deliver dog sled horror, a ferocious polar bear attack and solid performances, including Charles Dance as the Danish government’s Prime Minister.
Inspired by Ejnar Mikkelsen’s memoir “Two Against the Ice,” it’s co-written by Joe Derrick (“The Second Home”) and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jamie Lannister in “Game of Thrones”) and directed by Peter Flinth (“Eye of the Eagle”), who maintains authenticity and realism – chronicled by cinematographer Torben Forsberg in the Arctic’s white wasteland.
In the publicity notes, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau reveals that his wife is from Greenland so he’s been a visitor in that country for the last 25 years, noting: “It’s the most magical place.”
On the Granger Gauge of 1 to 10, “Against the Ice” is a survival 7, streaming on Netflix.
