Reviews (6)

Tremendous Psychological Adventure Thriller!!!
Moller scores extremely high points once again with Zero Kelvin. Although the movie is supposed to take place in remote, brutal Greenland, the movie was actually shot in remote, brutal Svalbard, Norway.

Moller is particularly adept and assembling, perfectly managing , and directing exceptional actors. Skarsgard is more than first rate as the menacing, moody, sociopathic, and vicious Randbaek. This is certainly a departure from some of Skarsgard's more well known characters, and this role demonstrates his range and amazing abilities to present a multitude of characters in vastly different circumstances.

Gard Eidsvold is superb as a relatively innocent and decent man who is plunged into harsh reality and forced to adapt to survive. His character represents truth, decency, and love, but also represents what men are capable of in dire and seemingly hopeless circumstances where evil rules and goodness is fleeting.

Bjorn Sundquist, one of Norway's best actors, is great as the analytical, no nonsense, experienced scientist. He functions as the mediator between Skarsgard's and Eidsvold's contrasts, but is himself forced to take drastic measures in extreme circumstances.

This is a great film which combines extreme psychological contrasts and contradictions, beautifully filmed landscapes, and the brutal reality of sub zero temperatures where basic survival is the goal. In short, it is a harrowing game of psychological and physical survival with a lot of twists and surprises. Some of the hunting scenes, particularly the scene involving a nasty walrus, are amazing. The sledding with teams of amazingly stout and rugged sled dogs in extremely dangerous and perilous conditions are perhaps unprecedented.

I gave the movie 4 stars for a few reasons. First, although sled dogs and animals are a commodity in the brutal world of the North, I thought the cruelty was a bit overdone. I think a few scenes could've been eliminated. I'm not an animal rights activist, but once again, just a few scenes should've been left out. Second, Skarsgard's performance is tremendous, but I also thought the production went a little too far with some of Randbaek's violent and sexual rantings. We got the point that Randbaek was a vicious, disturbed sociopath, and the character was developed quite well, but we didn't need to have it reiterated all the time.

Zero Kelvin - a rare, and authentic work
In 1995 while reading the New York Times I saw a review for a movie called Zero Kelvin. I think more out of curiosity about the name I began to read it. Kelvin is a temperature scale whose "zero" equals -271 celsius. An allusion to the world in which the story takes place. Set in Greenland, it is the story of 3 men and the forces both from their pasts and from within which collide in a squalid hunting cabin by the sea. Stellan Skarsgard is the "foreman" of the group and they are charged with doubling the previous season's pelt quota. The two experienced men are joined by a writer who hires on for the experience, but does not count on the realities he finds there. The realities not just of the environment, but also of drunkenness, brutality, his own character flaws and the near edge of madness at which the leader of the group is poised.
A bit of a punk, and unable to forgive perceived wrongs - Larsen, the writer - refuses the opportunities he's given to make peace with the other two men and the anger and mutual retributions are explosive. Finally, their passions lead to all out war with tragic and final results. This has been billed as the thinking man's adventure, which it certainly is. There is psychological and gut-level tension here, finely acted by this ensemble cast. If Jack London or Hemingway suit your tastes, then this fine film will not disappoint. - JK -

Good story...but those who love animals, stay away from it..
First off, a movie being filmed in the Svalbard archipelago of arctic Norway (though SET in East Greenland) captured my attention to watch this movie for Svalbard is one of my favourite travel destinations. I find that this movie has a good story-line, however, for animal-lovers, this might not be the film for you. It's based on a small fur-trading station in East Greenland where only sources of food are through hunting...and perhaps, of course, their job there is to kill wildlife...as simple as that. Hunting wildlife has never been my thing and I am an animal-lover, that is why I didn't really like this movie much (but what I did I expect eh), though interesting, showing how the 3 men stuck in a small cabin cut off from the rest of the world, but at the same time, not being able to get along with each other.

Overall, the movie was okay...just the fact of trapping and killing animals hit my weak points (though of course I knew thats what this movie is about). But I wouldn't say I regret seeing it...

NOT ONE TO WATCH WITH THE GIRLFRIEND!!
One of my favorite films is also probably the most misogynistic film ever made. Be warned: this film has nothing nice to say about humanity what-so-ever. A young, idealistic innocent, in love with his girl back home in Norway, has his heart and soul ripped apart in the frozen wastes of Greenland by the psychological (and before long, physical) torture of his employer, a huge, bitter misanthrope with an axe to grind with humanity and women in particular. The movie is a tour de force of mankind's most cruel philosophies in action, and our hero learns that there are few things colder than the human heart, including his own. The films visuals are a mind and soul numbing repetition of animal gore, awesome icy wastes and the dilapidated hovels where our protagonist lives, with the brutal and majestic shadow of practical survival hovering over all. This is a place with zero remorse, zero sentiment, zero love. It's as cold as it gets. Zero Kelvin.

A REAL CHILLER
A tough, tense, psychological thriller set in the bleak, frozen wilds of Greenland.

A young writer leaves Oslo and his girlfriend behind and joins a fur-trapping expedition that includes two mysterious men. Cut off from civilization, the once naive youth must use all his wits to survive the elements and a savage human enemy.

A rare, thoughtful adventure in an extreme setting starring the great Scandanavian actor Stellen Skarsgard.

Directed by Hans Moland from a screenplay by Lars Lundholm.

Visually stunning and mentally engaging. Highly recommended.

One UK reviewer (Bernard in THE DAILY MAIL) said it was "a Norse version of 'The Good The Bad and The Ugly.'"

Hard core Arctic adventure that goes all the way.

ZERO KELVIN delivers! ... Read more

Reviews (4)

The second pressing (release Oct 2002)
This new edition have fixed the sound problem, and the movie now have excellent sound through the whole movie. The picture quality is excellent the first hour, but the rest is still kinda blurry videoquality. The opening and end credits are still hard to read and the subtitles are still impossible to remove.

This DVD still recives 4 stars because it may be the most personal war story I've ever seen. German and Norwegian troops are treated equally and followed closely in their struggle.

An old warrior is not willing to let the Nazis have Norway
"The Last Lieutenant" tells a story we have seen before, about people decided to be collaborators or become part of the resistance when the Nazis occupy their country. But what is different in this 1993 film from director Hans Petter Moland, is that the story is set in Norway (can you even name another film set in Norway during World War II?). Espen Skjonberg plays Thor Espedal, a retired naval lieutenant who reenlists to defend his country on the eve of the Nazi invasion, overcoming the bureaucratic red tape. However, when it becomes clear that Norway is going to surrender, Thor takes his own little group of ragtag volunteers on one last mission. Skjonberg's performance is impressive as the stoic man who refuses to let the enemy win without a fight, but what really stands out for me in this film is the way Moland deals with the whole issue of collaboration. Certainly this is a period of conflicting thoughts and feelings for Norwegians, and the film deals with the "two" sides honestly and without becoming preachy. As I indicated on top, the elements of the story are certainly familiar to anyone who has watched a lot of World War II films, so what I really appreciate here are those "Norwegian" elements that make this film different from those about the French Resistance.

Good Movie / Bad Transfer
I rented this movie because I was intrigued by the cover. It turns out it was a pretty good movie and the lead actor does a very good job. It's an intriguing war story.

Before you rent or buy this on DVD (region 1) be aware that the transfer for this DVD is extremely bad and amateur.

The titles are blurry and so are the end credits. Other than that movie looks ok for about the first hour, but then at about 1 hour in (I'm assuming at a reel change) it abruptly becomes VERY NOTICABLY BLURRY (you'll want to yell at the projectionist to focus the movie) and SOUND COMPLETELY DROPS OUT (no sound at all for the rest of the movie).

After the sound drops out at about an hour, you'll just have to read subtitles in silence to figure out what is going on.

At first when the sound dropped out, I thought I had a problem with my DVD player--but it has the same problem on my OTHER DVD player (and the sound is ok before that). This is just a bad, bad, bad job of mastering/transferring this movie.

The subtitles are also part of the transfer and you cannot turn them on or off since they're part of the optical image. (You can turn the subtitles on or off or change them on most DVDs since the subtitles are stored as seperate data on most DVDs.)

Maybe they've corrected the problems with this DVD in second pressing, but I kind of doubt that enough people bought this DVD for it to ever sell enough for a second pressing.

World War II in Norway
"The Last Lieutenant" or "Secondløytnanten" as it's called in its original language gives the viewer a good insight in how the World War II was for the Norwegian Army. As a low-ranking officer of the Army-reserve, the main character show up for service as soon as he learns that his country is under attack by a foreign force. The war came as a great surprise to the Norwegian armed forces. As he shows up to start his fight, he first has to fight the bureaucracy to be allowed into the war. As he gets his own unit of poorly-trained and ill-motivated reserve soldiers, he takes the fight to the Germans despite most of the Army being either in chaos or surrendering.

The movie raises a few ethical questions as he wants to execute one of his own for letting out POW's. The movie is a captivating illustration of how futile the resistance in most of southern Norway was to the powerful German war-machine. I recommend this movie for anyone with an interest of World War II in Europe. This is quite a different story than those told of The war on the res of the continent. ... Read more

Amazon.com

An achingly beautiful film, Aberdeen has an outrageously sentimental premise: Kaisa (Lena Headey) is asked by her fatally ill mother (Charlotte Rampling) to bring her estranged father Tomas (Stellan Skarsgård,) to visit before her mother dies. Kaisa finds Tomas--a jobless drunk--at his home in Norway, and basically drags him on a road trip back to Scotland, over the course of which they're forced to grapple with their past. This could be a recipe for maudlin sap, but instead--thanks to sharp incisive writing, unexpected characters, and performances that encompass humor, brutally honest self-destructive behavior, and subtle gentleness--Aberdeen is bracing, constantly surprising, and deeply engaging. The entire cast (including the always solid Ian Hart, of Backbeat and Hollow Reed) is incredibly good. Highly recommended. --Bret Fetzer ... Read more

Reviews (5)

One Of The Better Nordic Movies
This is an excellent movie. As noted by other reviewers, the soundtrack is excellent, and the acting is first rate.

Skarsgard never seems to miss in any film, but in Aberdeen, his performance as a lost alcoholic groping towards recovery is so good it is on a par with fellow Swede and Cannes Film winner Per Oscarsson's stunning and seminal 1966 performance as a starving writer in Henning Carlsen's Hunger.

Lena Headey is remarkable as the talented yuppie with a host of skeletons in her closet. It should also be noted that Ian Hart's performance as the humble, self effacing truck driver Clive is great. He functions as the perfect match and foil to both Skarsgard's and Headey's characters. The final scenes of the movie are powerful, and reminds me a lot of some aspects of the personal life of the great Danish director, Lar Van Trier, who won much deserved accolades for his near perfect execution in Breaking the Waves.

Like many Nordic films, Aberdeen isn't shy about nudity as viewers should be aware that there are numerous sexual scenes and frontal nudity.

Painful, touching film about bruised family relationships
The situation: Kaisa, one tough lady (for good reason, as the film makes clear later on) is asked by her dying mother to bring her father back for one last visit. Kaisa has her work cut out for her, because her father is a difficult case- drunk, surly and bitingly sarcastic to boot. He's more than an equal match for Kaisa...and that's saying a lot.
This situation could make for simple sentimental pap in the hands of the wrong director but here it turns out to be a very believable and watchable movie - although it won't be to everyone's taste. The relationship and years of bad feelings between Kaisa and her father lead to moments which are sometimes painful to watch. If you want a fun, escapist movie, far engaged from hard reality, don't pick this one up. But if you're willing to watch a movie with some bite to it, you should find this one well worth watching. An extra bonus: The music is absolutely wonderful, not the sort of usual background music that tries to tweak the viewer's emotions.

A good film...
If you want to see Lena Heady's breasts exposed, this is the film to watch. But besides the numerous unnecessary topless scenes (which aren't too bad) this film is very intriguing...the human spirit tries to break through walls of addiction, frustration and isolation... now isn't that what a "suspense" drama should be about?

A Great Film
Abderdeen is a wonderful film; I actually saw it on the Sundance CHannel months before it came out (I love Sundance CHannel) and found it thoroughly enjoyable. THe plot is realistic if a bit sporadic and inconsistent in its flow (which suits this particular story). THe cinematography is wonderful and the shot compositions are extremely well-done...for anyone seriously interested in learning the craft, this is a movie to definitely own on DVD.

Amazing Film
I saw Aberdeen at a film festival last March. It is an all around wonderful film. I fell in love with the characters and their journey to Kaisa's mother. Also, the cinematography is brilliant. Such as the scene with Kaisa and Clive eating at the restaurant-wonderful shot! Everyone must find a way to see this film! ... Read more

Reviews (2)

One of Norway's Best from the 90s
This film should have received more attention than it did. Scandinavia produced a flood of coming-of-age films during the late 80s and 90s, and this is by far the edgiest and most intriguing. Jan "Devo" Kornstad--an outsider in real life as well--does a stunning job as the mysterious and clearly disturbed Frank, who befriends Otto during a long, hot and boring summer during the late 60s. The film wonderfully portrays the downside of the Scandinavian Social-Democratic idyll. If you enjoyed Monika Fagerholm's novel, Wonderful Women By the Sea, you'll also enjoy this film.

coming of age, with a bit of an edge...
Of all the many Scandinavian coming of age movies (My Life as A Dog, The Slingshot, The Other Side of Sunday, Herman, etc.) this one is perhaps the quietest and creepiest. The screenplay is by Lars Saabye Christensen who writes virtually every Norwegian movie. I'm not a big Christensen fan, but interesting performances from the ubiquitous actors Bjorn Floberg and Gisken Armand, and especially the fragile, charismatic Jan "Devo" Kornstad slowly shift the focus from the tribulations of puberty toward a more interesting and "adult" plot. Apparently (according to my Norwegian film source) Kornstad drifted into this movie from the Oslo club scene and drifted back into the netherworld after it was over...an uncanny overlap of character and actor. I think its probably basically a pretty lame movie, but I can't help being engrossed by it. ... Read more