Most survival movies have massive amounts of funding and a protagonist who is an expert on survival. Arctic is much more realistic than that.

The story follows a man named Overgård, who is lost in the arctic. He needs to decide on whether to stay at his makeshift base, or go out and seek help.

Unlike when watching Life of Pi or The Revenant, you do not feel like you are watching some blockbuster full of action, you feel like you are watching a man survive. This movie does not have some trivial backstory like Castaway or insane survival skills like The Grey; you’re watching a person, thrust into this situation who is trying his best to survive.

This movie has amazing cinematography that fits the mood perfectly, and Overgård (Mads Mikkelsen) has an excellent performance. Unlike other movies in this genre, Arctic does not have the protagonist narrate everything he does so it is easy to follow along.

You get to watch Overgård survive without him narrating, so you do not feel like you’re being babied, and you have to actively pay attention to the movie. If you have seen a survival movie before you will not be lost, even if you have not seen one you should still understand.

Yes this movie has its flaws and some choices Overgård makes are not the best, but it is not for lack of effort, it is because humans are not perfect, and neither is Overgård. Some problems that Overgård encounters could have been handled better, but he does not know every survival tip and trick, so at some points you might think of a better solution, but you have an objective view.

You are watching this movie in comfort, with food and friends near you. You’re not seconds away from death with very little time and energy to think. When you think from his perspective you gain a lot more empathy and understanding for his actions.

When watching this film you can tell that this was someone’s passion project. This movie treats you like an adult and values realism above marketability, which is a dying choice in Hollywood, but a noble one.