Zero Kelvin

In the 1920s, Henrik Larsen leaves his girlfriend Gertrude to spend a year as a trapper in Greenland. He carries a mix of aspiration and poetic vanity as he sets out for the Arctic. The departure marks the start of a harsh survival arc that will strain his ideals.

Larsen arrives at the Greenland station and shares a small winter hut with station master Randbæk and scientist Holm. Randbæk mocks Larsen’s poetry, violin playing, and kindness to the sled dogs, while Larsen proves himself capable at several tasks. The dynamic sets up a power struggle that shadows the entire stay.

Randbæk discovers a letter from Gertrude rejecting Larsen's marriage proposal and taunts him about her infidelity. The cruel discovery fuels his mockery and widens the rift between them. Larsen's hopes begin to crumble as trust fractures in the extreme cold.

With supplies running low, Randbæk and Holm discuss killing one dog to reduce risk. Randbæk deliberately wounds the dog instead of killing it, provoking Larsen's anger and concern for the animals. The tension escalates toward a breaking point.

Larsen and Randbæk clash as tempers flare over the dog’s fate, and Holm intervenes to stop Randbæk from murdering Larsen. The incident deepens the divide and tests their fragile tolerance of each other. The icy landscape becomes a backdrop for a shifting alliance.

Randbæk tries to smooth things with a Christmas feast, but the same argument over the dogs erupts again and Randbæk destroys the decorations. Holm abandons the friendship and departs the station by sled. The trio’s brittle dynamic collapses into isolation.

A few days later, Randbæk drunkenly knocks over a lantern, setting the cabin on fire. With no shelter, the two decide to travel by sled dog toward a new settlement, forcing them into a grueling journey. The burning cabin mirrors their unraveling relationship.

Randbæk refuses to share the work and whips Larsen’s face, forcing him from the sled. They exchange gunfire as they surge across the frozen landscape, each driven by pride and survival. The ice becomes a ruthless tribunal for their feud.

Larsen discovers Holm’s sled has crashed into a ravine, and he lets Randbæk overtake him. They decide to work together to survive, a grim alliance born of necessity rather than trust. The turn signals a shift from rivalries to pragmatic cooperation.

Larsen tries to cross the ice and plunges into the frigid water, but the dogs pull him free. He finds shelter in the prow of a wrecked ship and gradually regains consciousness. The Arctic night lingers as their fragile survival persists.

Larsen wakes to discover Randbæk has saved his life by building a fire, a rare moment of warmth amid mutual suspicion. The fragile moment of warmth underscores the uneasy dependence between them. The fragile truce holds as the cold presses in.

Randbæk begins brutally beating Larsen's dog to death for food, and Larsen responds by shooting Randbæk repeatedly. The confrontation ends with Randbæk dying, a confession slipping from him about a former murder of his wife’s lover. The confession hints that love’s end has already closed in on him.

As he dies, Randbæk confesses that he murdered a lover of his wife, calling it "the end of love." He predicts that Larsen will now become like him. The moment underscored the moral cost of their survival and the transformation Larsen may endure.

Safely returned to Oslo, Larsen claims Randbæk died in the fire and is reunited with Gertrude, who now agrees to marry him. The pair find a fragile stability as the old relationship resumes. The honesty of their future is still uncertain but hopeful.

As Gertrude prepares to shave him, Larsen breaks into tears. The emotional weight of the recent survival and the unspoken costs of the journey spills over. The ending remains bittersweet, with a vow for a future shadowed by memory.