Feels like a combination of _Silence_ and _There Will Be Blood_. It's one of those movies that's really good at immersion; the cinematography, sound effects and score are all so accomplished that you're immediately transported into its world. For as pretentious as this may sound: you will feel the Icelandic cold of this movie. There are so many vistas that have already burned themselves onto my memory. However, it's probably a good thing that the film managed to hold my attention through just the technical aspects, because the writing can be lackluster. Sometimes it's slow to a fault, for example the first hour really should've been cut down to the more essential bits as there's way too much indulgence here. It feels like it only gets going in the second half, because that's when the conflict and themes get introduced. You need some of the set-up from the first hour, but it feels too drawn out. The arc of the main character is also utterly predictable, effectively hitting the emotions it's trying to sell, but not in a particularly surprising way. Still, I liked what it was doing overall and it's the kind of film that deserves respect. It's undeniably a piece of quality filmmaking with subtlety, substance, style and good performances, but definitely not for everyone.

6.5/10