Heroes of the Arctic Circle - DVD

Movie: For months now, Inari (Pamela Tola) has been nagging her boyfriend Janne (Jussi Vatanen) to finally buy a digital reciever, since their village in the Arctic Circle will soon be shutting down analog TV. When Janne prefers to invest the money his girlfriend gave him for the receiver in beer, Inari is furious: she gives Janne until the next morning to buy a reciever, otherwise it's over. Janne doesn't really feel like going in search of a digital reciever, but losing Inari wouldn't be very nice either. And so he sets off with his buddies Räihänen (Timo Lavikainen) and Kapu (Jesper Pääkönen) on a nightly odyssey across Lapland. But while back home Inari's old beau Pikku-Mikku (Kari Ketonen) is already on the mat to finally win the heart of his beloved, Janne and his buddies have to deal with all kinds of problems, of which the merciless nature is still the least of all evils.

Heroes of the Arctic Circle is an amusing road movie that relies primarily on humor but reveals a certain seriousness underneath. With some typically Nordic wit of the blacker kind - for instance, the only attraction in Janne's small hometown is an old tree from which the most frustrated residents have always hanged themselves - the story quickly makes its way to the hearts of the audience. Sure, especially at the beginning, Janne and his buddies don't exactly make the most sympathetic impression. But director Dome Karukoski manages to infuse their character flaws with so much charm that you just have to like these messes.

The film also manages a difficult balancing act when it comes to humor. So some gags do go in a slightly rougher direction. But Karukosi doesn't overshoot the mark, always remaining pleasantly restrained and thus almost always managing to avoid platitudinous moments. Sure, not all jokes work and in some scenes the break between comedy and drama seems a bit strange. But considering what many other directors would have made of this story, Dome Karukoski can only be congratulated for his endearingly quirky road trip.

The film thrives not only on its human characters, but also on the landscape of the Arctic Circle, which is presented in mesmerizing beauty but never overly romanticized. The same goes for the lives of the people, who have to come to terms with the constant darkness, cold and isolation. The fact that this is not always pleasant, but that this circumstance can be conveyed with humour, is what makes the film so appealing. Heroes of the Arctic Circle does not only make out on the surface, on which the events as a rather harmless comedy for good humor. Also to discover that there are many more facets underneath, which are sometimes amusing, sometimes almost sad, then again simply touching in a sympathetic way, makes this multiple award-winning road movie a very special film fun. So if you like comedies that are a bit off the beaten track and are infused with Nordic flair, you should definitely go on a road trip with the heroes of the Arctic Circle. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The image of the DVD is well implemented, especially in the landscape shots, the coherent color scheme and good image sharpness makes itself positively noticeable. The fact that there are no major weaknesses to discover even in the many darker moments, is due to the neatly tuned black levels and the satisfactory contrasts. The sound is rather quiet, the dialogue and music dominated events are only broken up by good surround effects from time to time. Overall, this earns a satisfying: good!

Extras: The bonus material of the DVD is clear, but well worth seeing. After a short, especially towards the end very amusing introduction of the director (approx. 2 min.), there is a look at the premiere in Helsinki (approx. 1:20 min.), a look at the shooting (approx. 4 min.), as well as a short introduction of the characters (approx. 3 min.). Cut scenes (approx. 12 min.), each accompanied by a short introductory commentary by the director, as well as two music videos and trailers can be discovered by the inclined viewer in the bonus material. Especially commendable: all extras, even the two songs, are provided with German subtitles.

Conclusion: Heroes of the Arctic Circle is a likeable road movie that scores with typical Nordic humor, charming characters and beautiful landscape shots. The DVD is technically well implemented and also has some nice extras to offer. If you like humorous entertainment, which sometimes goes unusual ways, you will quickly succumb to the Nordic charm of this comedy. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp