Milak, der Grönlandjäger is a cold, messy, beautiful Arctic slog

The Cold is the Real Star

If you have any plans of going to the Arctic after watching this, you’ll probaly change your mind within ten minutes. This isn't one of those studio movies where the snow looks like salt or sugar.

You can see the breath of the actors. You can see their eyes watering from the absolute sting of the wind.

Is it worth watching today? Yeah, if you like seeing how people used to suffer for art before CGI made everything look like a video game.

If you want a fast-paced thriller, go watch Double Danger instead. This one is a slow crawl across a very flat, very white horizon.

The story is basically a race. Some researchers are trying to get to the North Pole before an American expedition.

I don't even think the Americans are in the movie that much. They are just this vague threat of "the other guys" who might get the glory first.

The researchers are mostly just walking. And falling. And then walking some more.

Arnold Fanck, the guy who directed this, was obsessed with mountains and nature. You can tell because he treats the human actors like props.

The ice is the main character. The rifts in the snow are the villains.

There is this one scene where a dog sled almost goes over a ledge. My heart actually skipped a beat because those were real dogs and that was a real ledge.

Speaking of the dogs, Milak is the dog of the title. He's basically the only character I actually cared about the whole time.

He has this look in his eyes. It’s like he knows the director is crazy for making them run in this weather.

The humans are fine, I guess. Ruth Weyher is in it, and she looks very glamorous despite the fact that her eyelashes are probably frozen shut.

It reminds me of the obsession with Physical Beauty back then, even in the middle of a blizzard. She stays looking like a movie star while everyone else looks like a wet wool blanket.

The Pacing is... Weird

Sometimes the movie just stops. It stops to show you how a dog eats or how the ice shifts.

I liked that. It felt like I was actually there, bored and cold with them.

Modern movies would have a big orchestral swell and a dramatic speech. Here, you just get a title card and more wind.

It’s a bit like watching Did You Ever Take a Ride Over Kansas City Street 'in a Fliver' but instead of a city, it's a frozen hellscape.

There’s a lot of focus on the equipment. The sleds, the furs, the little stoves they use.

I found myself wondering how they kept the camera from freezing. Apparently, the oil in the cameras would turn to sludge in that kind of cold.

The Americans are led by some guys who look like they’ve never seen snow in their lives. It’s funny in a way.

It’s the classic "Europeans are rugged and serious" vs "Americans are loud and have too much money" trope. Some things never change, I guess.

Small Moments

There is a shot of a man trying to light a pipe. It takes forever.

The wind keeps blowing it out. The movie just keeps the camera rolling on him failing to light it.

Most editors today would cut that out. But here, it’s the whole point of the scene.

It shows how small humans are. We can’t even have a smoke if the Arctic says no.

There is another moment where they are crossing an ice bridge. It looks so flimsy I thought the movie was going to turn into a tragedy right there.

The tension isn't built with music. It’s built with the silence of the title cards.

If you're used to Hot Water or comedies from this era, the tone will throw you off. It’s very grim.

But then, there are these wide shots of the icebergs. They look like alien cathedrals.

It’s almost as weirdly beautiful as Beauty and the Beast, but without the fairy tale stuff. Just raw nature.

One of the actors, Helmer Hannsen, was a real explorer. He actually went to the South Pole with Amundsen.

You can tell he’s not acting. He just knows how to stand on a sled so he doesn't break his legs.

The others look a bit more like they are trying to look tough. Hannsen just is tough.

I noticed a scratch on the film during the big storm scene. It actually added to the feeling of chaos.

The whole thing feels a bit unfinished. Like they ran out of film or just got too cold to keep shooting.

But that’s why I liked it. It’s not polished.

It’s not trying to be a masterpiece. It’s just trying to survive the night.

If you hate old movies where nothing "happens," you will hate this. It’s basically 90 minutes of frostbite.

But if you want to see what people were capable of before green screens... give it a look. Just bring a sweater.

Seriously, I had to turn my heater up while watching. That wind is mean. ❄️