2016

Director: Kin Nguyen

Genre: Surreal Romantic Drama

There's an emptiness here. Nothing in that icy tundra but your own feelings and memories. 

After all so much hope for the future. After all you have done to exorcise your demons and cleanse your mind... you will freeze in that wasteland. 

There's not much I can find to say about this film. It's an extremely emotional experience for me that resonates on multiple levels. It is a film both narrow and expansive in its focus. It shows us the hopelessness of love and also the undeniable grandeur of such strong affection. 

The film does not force you into any specific emotional state. It presents itself in an extremely subdued way. We do not get a loud sound cue when we see a character fall into a crevasse in the background, instead we are left with the terror of pure silence. We do not witness an overblown reaction when a polar bear walks onscreen and starts speaking to the main character. 

Upon close inspection and excellent performances, we can slowly observe the deterioration of these two character's minds as they leave the rest of the world behind and rely solely on each other's existence for survival. They are deeply broken people. They will never feel complete together, but they desperately want to try. 

The world presented here is desolate beyond belief. It is a place where you can burn your monsters and speak to a god. It is a simple story of humans trying to escape. 

It makes me feel hollow and empty.

And I love that. 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️🐻