The Lovers of the Arctic Circle (Los Amantes del Círculo Polar) (The Lovers from the North Pole) poster & wallpaper
Get movie widget Recommend it Add to Favorites

Najwa Nimri, Fele Martínez, Nancho Novo, Maru Valdivielso, Peru Medem ... see more see more... , Sara Valiente , Beate Jensen

Julio Medem directed this romantic Spanish drama with location scenes in Finland. School children Ana (Sara Valiente) and Otto (Peru Medem) are brought together when a paper airplane flown from a wind... read more read more...ow by Otto unites Ana's mother Olga (Maru Valdiviesio) with Otto's father Alvaro (Nancho Novo). After this encounter, Olga and Alvaro fall in love -- with the result that Alvaro leaves Otto's German mother Ula (Beate Jensen). To be near Ana, Otto begins living with Alvaro and Olga. Ana believes that Otto harbors the soul of her dead father. As adolescents, Otto (Fele Martinez) and Ana (Najwa Nimri) share a kiss over a book opened to a passage about the Arctic Circle, and they often sleep together. Otto is grief-stricken by the death of his mother -- partially due to his leaving her for Ana. Shown at 1998 film festivals (Venice, Toronto). ~ Bhob Stewart, Rovi

Flixster Users

92% liked it

10,720 ratings

Critics

83% liked it

24 critics

R, 1 hr. 47 min.

Directed by: Julio Medem

Release Date: September 4, 1998

Invite friends to see

DVD Release Date: April 25, 2006

Stats: 738 reviews

report incorrect info

Photos

Najwa Nimri The Lovers of the Arctic Circle (Los Amantes del Círculo Polar) (The Lovers from the North Pole) The Lovers of the Arctic Circle (Los Amantes del Círculo Polar) (The Lovers from the North Pole)
Upload a Photo | View All The Lovers of the Arctic Circle (Los Amantes del Círculo Polar) (The Lovers from the North Pole) Photos

Your Rating


clear rating

Flixster Reviews (738)

  • ebs90
    July 26, 2008
    ebs90
    Beautiful beautiful beautiful film!! A story about the circle of life, unfulfilled love, and longing.



    I think the less you know about the plot, the better. I am already a little sorry that I'd read about it so much before watching it, but since a slight outline is ne... read morecessary I'll put it like this: Otto and Ana's lives are doomed to follow a circle. Begin it and close it. Their love is so beautiful and perfect that it can't but follow the same scheme: begin with a casualty and end with one, begin with intensity and end with it.



    The story is told from the points of view of both characters throughout their infancy, adolescence, and adulthood. Their communication is silent, they understand each other entirely, and they love each other in secret. Casualty dominates their fates, and so casualty after casualty leads them to find each other, grow apart, and find each other again, until it takes them to the Arctic Circle for the closing of their circle. It sounds a little cheesy, but it's nothing like that: the film is sublime, the romance is subtle and hushed. The intensity is in the longing, and how. Otto and Ana are lost without each other. They live in accordance to where their love takes them.



    I think these days it's difficult to make a believable film about love, which doesn't mean that the events that constitute this story are entirely believable, but the love is. It's about surrender and companionship, not about crazy doomed mindless lust or sticky-sweet giggling sentimentalism. Which is what we usually get. The story has erotic moments, but it doesn't limit itself to that. Lovers of the Arctic Circle doesn't think we're so stupid we won't get it. It lets the audience get lost in it, and it works.



    Julio Medem relies heavily on casualty to explain the events, which gives the film fairytale tones. Still, the mysticism doesn't obstruct the purity of the story. Also, the narrative structure is not lineal: we go from adulthood to childhood in seconds, one event is sometimes integrated into another. Medem blurs the lines between hope, dream, and reality, to a brilliant outcome.



    Finally, all actors are simply excellent. All performances are without flaw. Fele Martinez and Nawja Nimri are simply perfect.



    In short, the film is astonishing. The emotional involvement it brings (a few hours after I'd seen it, in my case) is without comparison. Even though it's rather cold, it's not antiseptic; we get the feeling we're being allowed to look through a hole in the wall, permission to take a peek into someone's own personal love story, which is why it seems isolated from us. Some things, thoughts, we're not allowed to know, but we can guess. And all of this happens to take place in a wonderful world in which fate and love dance together. It's a real accomplishment, one of the loveliest films I have ever seen.
  • mvieaddict
    January 1, 2010
    mvieaddict
    I had never heard of this movie or of Julio Medem, the Spanish director. I went to watch the movie without having any idea of what I was about to see. As I watched the first few minutes of the movie I started to get into it.
    I adored the characters of Ana and Otto as children. Ot... read moreto and Ana became brother and sister because Otto's father married Ana's mother. Soon Ana and Otto began to sleep with each other and they fell in love.Things changed for Otto when his mother died. He left everything and everyone behind. He became a pilot for a mailing service. Ana decided to leave also and she went to live in Lapland, Finland. Otto and Ana ended up meeting here.The movie was full of twists and turns. It portrayed the way Ana saw life and the way Otto did.To Ana, life was full of coincidences, while Otto saw life as running in a circle. Overall, it was an enjoyable movie,
  • jimbotender
    April 5, 2009
    jimbotender
    Freaking tantra.Ah yes,the herbs of amour and the joint of the sexes,mystical environments,Medem is a resident of mysterious communications.Ana-Otto,the train of one element.That of surreal expiation.
  • denebkaitos
    April 2, 2010
    denebkaitos
    There are many elements that come together to show the tense relationship between two people in love. They are often separated by space, but are very close to each other. This film can only be appreciated if you watch it many times, something I will not be willing to do.
  • craigdawson2001
    May 10, 2009
    craigdawson2001
    Lovers is a very beautiful movie.
    I would have to say that this is one of the better foreign language movies I have seen. I could not keep my eyes off of it from the moment I started watching it.

    It is filmed in Spanish and has English subtitles.

    The stor... read morey takes place in Spain and later in Finland... and is about a boy and a girl that first meet when they are 8 years old... and are obviously destined to be with one another... yet they end up becoming step siblings because the boys dad and the girls mom get married. Their obsession with each other carries through out their teen years and into early adulthood.

    The story was somewhat erotic, yet innocent. both the adult leads and the actors playing their teenage selves had incredible chemistry.

    The haunting imagery and story was beautiful. And the occasional skipping back and forth between their younger years and teen and adult ages was a spectacular way to tell their story.

    All in all this movie gets a big WOW from me.... even up through the ending.
  • InaKafkaTragedy
    June 20, 2008
    InaKafkaTragedy
    The most romantic movie ever made. Beautiful and tragic. Every romantic and lover should see this film.
  • v1cky202122
    May 29, 2008
    v1cky202122
    FOR ALL OF THOSE WHO ARE FANS OF LOVE STORIES, THIS IS A MUST SEE! ONE OF MY FAVE LOVE STORIES. THANX TO MY DEAR FRIEND IN FRANCE!
  • loadedman
    May 4, 2008
    loadedman
    One of the best movies that you've probably never seen.

    Directed by Julio Medem. One of the best films in Spanish cinema history. A MUST SEE.
  • jeffkimboston
    March 27, 2007
    jeffkimboston
    Well filmed and original. Still, some of the characters actions are too inexplicable to believe in the end, although the theme is always made clear.

View All The Lovers of the Arctic Circle (Los Amantes del Círculo Polar) (The Lovers from the North Pole) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert
January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie is about love -- or, rather, about their grand ideas of romance. It is comforting to think that we can love so powerfully that fate itself wheels and turns at the command of our souls. Full Review

John A. Nesbit
April 25, 2006
John A. Nesbit, Old School Reviews

refuses to dumb down the presentation to craft one of the most beautiful romances in recent memory Full Review

Michael Dequina
January 13, 2004
Michael Dequina, TheMovieReport.com

A triumphant exercise in style. Full Review

Chuck Rudolph
April 20, 2001
Chuck Rudolph, Matinee Magazine

It's hard not to find the whole thing pretentious and obnoxious. Full Review

Christopher Null
April 17, 2001
Christopher Null, Filmcritic.com

you're sure to fall in love with all three actresses that play the woman throughout her life. Full Review

Dennis Schwartz
January 1, 2000
Dennis Schwartz, Ozus' World Movie Reviews

I felt caught up in the film's magical spell despite the many reservations I had about it being manipulative. Full Review

Kevin Lally
January 1, 2000
Kevin Lally, Film Journal International

Devotees of conceptual cinema will find plenty to enjoy in the director's ingenious tapestry of recurring motifs and symbols. Full Review

Ross Anthony
January 1, 2000
Ross Anthony, Hollywood Report Card

if you're a lover of dark abstract art, you might just be a lover of the Arctic Circle. Full Review

Arthur Lazere
January 1, 2000
Arthur Lazere, culturevulture.net

Medem superimposes his patterns with a heavy hand on top of the story and then feels he has to underline, italicize, and CAPITALIZE to make sure we don't miss his conceits. Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
September 7, 2011
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

Fresh (60% or more critics rated the movie positively)

Rotten (59% or fewer critics rated the movie positively)

Cast

More Like This

Click a thumb to vote on that suggestion, or add your own suggestions.

  • A Very Long Engagement
    A Very Long Engagement (56%)
  • Sex and Lucia (Lucía y el sexo)
    Sex and Lucia (Lucía y el sexo) (70%)
  • Bad Education (La Mala educación)
    Bad Education (La Mala educación) (100%)
  • La Double Vie de Véronique (The Double Life of Veronique)
    La Double Vie de Véronique (The Double Life o... (75%)

More Movies like The Lovers of the Arctic Circle (Los Amantes del Círculo Polar) (The Lovers from the North Pole)

Facts

No facts approved yet. Be the first

The Lovers of the... : Watch Free on TV

The Lovers of the Arctic Circle (Los Amantes del Círculo Polar) (The Lovers from the North Pole) Trivia

Movie Quizzes

Create a Quiz |

All Quizzes

Video Clips

Upload a Video |

All The Lovers of the Arctic Circle (Los Amantes del Círculo Polar) (The Lovers from the North Pole) Videos

Meet Other Fans

Add The Lovers of the Arctic Circle (Los Amantes del Círculo Polar) (The Lovers from the North Pole) to favorites

Recent News

No recent headlines. Got one?

Recent Lists

Make a List |

View All Lists

Most Popular Skin

No skins yet. Interested in creating one?