25/10/2022 - Leave it to Spanish director Ainara Vera to combine a strong sisterly bond and the Arctic, and for it to actually make perfect sense

It gets cold, watching Polaris [+see also:
trailer
interview: Ainara Vera
film profile]. Also, you can’t actually see all that much at the beginning, with the relentless wind and snow obscuring one tiny silhouette, making it hard to hear her muffled voice. But she is in pain, that much is clear – she feels lonely. And yet she keeps on going.

Hayat is an expert sailor in the Arctic. She is fun to follow, also because she complains quite a lot, calling someone a “ballbreaker” right from the start. But when her sister Leila gives birth in France, they both start to think about their choices and their family’s complicated past, not to mention vicious cycles that they really don’t want to repeat.

Ainara Vera’s documentary – which came to Mirage following its world premiere in Cannes’ ACID – is, to put it simply, very touching. It’s also, and this is so very welcome, not sentimental at all. Her protagonists would never allow it.

As they both go on their respective, equally scary journeys – complaining about excessive smoking along the way – a lot of hurt comes out. Hayat talks about the harsh relationship with her own mother, about finally having coffee with her as an adult and realising she “was not a bad person, but she just wasn’t her mother”. Vera seems to know that a statement like that, coming from the gut, hits hard on its own. Maybe that’s why she keeps the film relatively simple.

There is more to unravel: the fear of your child growing up without a father, the horrors that come from being a woman in a man’s world, especially when stuck on a boat with them for long periods of time. “As a woman, if you are a little bit attractive, it’s so fucking difficult. It consumes so much energy,” says Hayat, mentioning way too many inappropriate interactions and “cold” reactions to her attempts at making things better. They share, they talk on the phone, they reassure each other. For lack of a better expression, Polaris is a love story.

Known as Viktor Kossakovsky’s editor – apparently, she met Hayat thanks to his Aquarela [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Victor Kossakovsky
film profile] – Vera is also on multiple duties here. But she is a good listener, first and foremost, which usually makes for a good director. She is also able to take a backseat to her story and her protagonists, to let them do the talking and come to their own conclusions. Even over the phone, if needed.

Polaris was produced by France’s Point du Jour International and Les Films du Balibari, and Denmark’s Ánorâk Film. It is distributed in France by Jour2fête, while its international sales have been entrusted to The Party Film Sales.