A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Norwegian screenwriter and director Hans Petter Moland's second feature film which he co-wrote with Swedish screenwriter Lars Bill Lundholm and Peter Tutein, is an adaptation of a novel called "Larsen" from 1929 by Danish author Peter Tutein. It premiered in Norway, was shot on location in Norway and Greenland and is a Norway-Sweden co-production which was produced by Norwegian producer Bent Rognlien and Danish actor, producer and director Esben Høilund Carlsen (1941-2011). It tells the story about a poet named Henrik Larsen whom after having proposed to his girlfriend named Gertrud who believes in free love, leaves Christiania, Norway and goes on a fur hunting expedition to Greenland where he is to write a book about the men of the wild and live with a Swedish man named Randbaek and a Norwegian man named Jakob Holm.Subtly and engagingly directed by Nordic filmmaker Hans Petter Moland, this quietly paced fictional tale which is narrated from multiple viewpoints though mostly from the main character's point of view, draws a dense and involving portrayal of an increasingly conflicting relationship between a scientist, a superstitious and antagonizing former sailor and a lyrical violinist. While notable for it's distinct and naturalistic milieu depictions, sterling cinematography by Norwegian cinematographer Philip Øgaard, production design by Polish production designer Janusz Sosnowski, costume design by Norwegian costume designer Bente Winther-Larsen and use of sound, this dialog-driven and narrative-driven story about a winter expedition which turns into a battle for survival between two contradicting personalities and the man in the middle, depicts two in-depth and merging studies of character and contains a great and timely instrumental score by Norwegian composer Terje Rypdal.This somewhat romantic, modestly literary and reflective drama from the mid-1990s which is set during a winter in the mid-1920s in Greenland and where a sadistic misogynist instigates a war with a humane philogynist whom he thinks has to become a real man according to his notions of what a real man is, is impelled and reinforced by it's cogent narrative structure, substantial character development, subtle continuity, scenes between Henrik and Randbaek and Henrik and Gertrud and the memorable and authentic acting performances by Norwegian actors Gard B. Eidsvold and Bjørn Sundqvist and Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård. A majestically atmospheric, existentialistic and psychological chamber piece which gained, among other awards, the Amanda Award for Best Norwegian Film at the 12th Amanda Awards in 1996.

This is a powerful film that has only its beginning and end as a downside, it is a film that concentrates on the relationship between the Nietzschean Beyond Good and Evil duality with a bit of Hamsun thrown in. The characters involved, a young philosopher/writer, who is innocent, a hard man, who represents corruption and depravity, and the scientist, who is a mixture of both of them with the cognitive sense of reason, are put into a fiery situation, namely a Sartrean "Hell", as they find themselves on a deserted island near the arctic, capturing skins for a company that is in Norway. At first they get along, but the stubborn man keeps bothering the poet and soon they are at odds with one another, eventually resulting in the destruction of one of them. I didn't like the beginning because it was pretentious, and the end was too malicious, but an excellent film indeed for its descent into the schism of human understanding and contemplation.

As usual, I went to see this movie having heard nothing of it, which normally works best since then I am able to see it on its own premises rather than being affected by reviews or previews, and even so I was quite surprised.This film is nothing less than a well-played, well-shot psychological action/drama/thriller, and what's more, a Norwegian one even. Everything is highly believable, and the psychological development of the main character is a bit reminiscent of Espen Arnakke in Aksel Sandemose's Misery Harbour.In "Misery Harbour", however, it is a development you are made aware of and pointed to look for, whereas in "Kjærlighetens Kjøtere", it gradually dawns on you what you are seeing, which makes this a much more powerful psychological narrative.All in all, this is a rare pearl of ice, a gem of filmmaking that should not be left in its oyster, but held up to the light to be viewed in all its beauty by everyone who enjoy good movies.

Although that's not a bad thing, that is not exactly what the Kino Video release implies about the film. I was expecting some sort of exciting Arctic adventure story. Something fairly simple-minded, in other words.Since expectation and actualization in this case are as different as snow and ice, it's a little difficult to assess the film fairly.Suffice it to say that Stellan Skarsgård is unrecognizable as the foul-mouthed hunter. In Scandinavia, is he well known for his versatility? If he's not, he should be. Stellan is lousy in this film. I mean that literally. He's infested with lice. He's grubby. You would not want to be locked all winter in a claustrophobic room with him. His character is the heart of this drama.This may not have been the Arctic adventure I was hoping for, but then it didn't leave me cold either.The film was shot on the island of Spitzbergen (Svalbard in Norwegian), but I couldn't tell that I wasn't looking at Greenland.The last credited performer, Tinkas Qorfiq, played the part of Jane, the dog, if I'm not mistaken.