Against The Ice Review: Coster-Waldau Leads Gritty, Searing Arctic Adventure
Director Peter Flinth’s (Eye of the Eagle) arctic adventure — starring and co-written by Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones) — is a harsh look at Greenland's complex history through the lens of the men who almost died trying to reach it. The supporting cast is anchored by fellow Game of Thrones alum Charles Dance and Peaky Blinders actor Joe Cole. The picture was filmed in Greenland and Iceland, making the location impeccably accurate. Based on the autobiography of Ejnar Mikkelsen, Against The Ice shows the grim reality of what it takes to cross an arctic tundra.
In the early 1900s, a Danish explorer, Mikkelsen, leads a small expedition to claim North-Eastern Greenland before The United States of America plants its flag. After several unsuccessful attempts that lead to crew members dying and getting injured, Captain Mikkelsen (Coster-Waldau) takes on the journey himself. But he needs a volunteer and no one in their right mind would accompany him — except for mechanic Ivr Iverson (Cole), who is as green as he is eager. The two embark on their journey and immediately lose half their tea, a lead dog, and two weeks' worth of rations. Almost a hundred days into their journey they finally come across a semblance of hope in the form of a note and map left by the explorers who came before them. Faced with the elements, deciding to eat questionable meat, and surviving polar bear attacks, the duo is forced to make a decision: move forward with the information and maps the old crew left behind or turn around and sled two hundred miles back to camp.
Related: Nikolaj Coster-Waldau & Joe Cole Interview: Against the Ice
Alongside scribe Joe Derrick (The Second Home), Coster-Waldau has a perfect roadmap in Mikkelsen’s autobiography
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