Product Description

An existential thriller played out against the landscape of greenland. Larsen is a young writer in oslo who leaves everything behind to join a fur-trapping expedition and finds adventure. Features: letterboxed edition. Studio: Kino International Release Date: 04/24/2001 Starring: Stellan Skarsgard Run time: 113 minutes Rating: Nr

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #85761 in DVD
• Released on: 2001-04-24
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 113 minutes

From the Back Cover
Visually stunning and psychologically intense, Sero Kelvin is a one-of-a-kind achievement, an existential thriller played out against the bleakly beautiful landscapes of Greenland. The ensemble cast includes some of Scandinavia's top stars and a tour-de-force performance by the great Stellan Skarsgard (Good Will Hunting, The Hunt for Red October, Breaking the Waves and Amistad). Henrik Larsen (Gard B. Eidsvold) is a young writer living in Oslo, Norway, who looks to broaden his horizons with travel and adventure. He leaves behind his girlfriend (Camilla Martens) and joins a fur-trapping expedition that includes himself and two enigmatic men: the sailor Randbaek (Skarsgard) and the scientist Holm (Bjorn Sundquist). The cunning, vulgar Randbaek soon becomes Larsen's nemesis and he must use all his strength and wit to survive in a physical and psychological wilderness. Cut off from civilization, the men face the elements and each other with increasing difficulty, leading to a violent and harrowing climax. A psychological thriller set in the context of a tense story of survival, Hans Petter Moland's Zero Kelvin is the rare exception to the genre-a thinking person's adventure film.

Customer Reviews

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 -

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!