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It was Stowaway that first captured my attention, being the fan of space thrillers that I am. But when I discovered that this was director Joe Penna’s second film following his debut Arctic (a film about which I had heard raves), I decided to do an at-home double feature. The films captivated my imagination and spirit in ways I’m still processing. Penna’s sensitive lyrical vision elevates what would otherwise be two rather direct survival stories into the kind of art with the capacity to inspire and devastate simultaneously and in equal measure.

In Arctic, a pilot whose plane has crashed in the frozen wilderness must face relentless peril as he struggles to survive against the brutal freezing temperatures and the area’s natural predators. His survival is further complicated when a helicopter’s failed rescue attempt leaves a severely wounded women in his care. Choosing to leave the shelter of his downed aircraft, he sets out on a treacherous multi-day journey towards the closest refuge, forced to battle the brutal temperatures, endure the strain of transporting his catatonic companion, and somehow evade the pursuit of a hungry polar bear. Anchored by an incredible performance from Mads Mikkelsen (who brings a profound depth of humanity and emotional gravity to a role where so much has to be conveyed without dialogue), the film proceeds like visual poetry, with the beauty of both the natural landscape and the magnificent score contrasting the harsh and bleak circumstances in which our hero finds himself at every turn. It is a richly human film, whose power and impact far out distance the simplicity of its premise.

Set in a vastly different (and yet equally harsh) environment, Stowaway is the story of a three-person astronaut crew journeying to Mars to cultivate the prospects of a colony there. However, 12 hours into their journey, they discover an unconscious member of the launch crew has accidentally stayed on the ship with them, compromising their resources and their chances for survival. As the four of them each weigh matters of literal life and death, they are forced to face impossible choices that challenge their ethics and their personal values as they struggle to find a way to safely make it to Mars, knowing that may not be possible for all of them. The film’s conclusion is as likely to frustrate as it is to provoke thought and emotion, but if you are tracking with the film’s core wavelength, it’s a film with the potential to be incredibly moving.

Taken in contrast, Arctic is the slightly stronger film. Its narrative is more direct and the stakes are more immediately apparent. Stowaway’s stakes depend upon the mechanics of elements with which viewers won’t automatically be familiar (like the mathematics of Carbon Dioxide scrubbing or the dangers of a solar storm). While the script does an impressive job of simplifying the details of the problems, that creates an unspoken presumption that the solutions will also be as simple to uncover. When the film’s characters ultimately reach their conclusions about what they must do, it’s possible the weight of these choices won’t be immediately apparent. How you feel about the film may ultimately depend upon how you feel about the choices the characters make, rather than the outcome of those choices, which for me was a gripping and powerful place to resolve the narrative.

But what impressed me the most about both of these films were their comparable central dilemmas. In each film, the primary characters are forced to make choices about how to care for the life of another at the peril of their own survival. There is an undercurrent of humanity and compassion in these films which is difficult to ignore or dismiss, framed intentionally around the ongoing struggle between our will to survive and our responsibility to care for each other. Following a year that seemed frequently to position those two choices in direct conflict, I found this pair of films profoundly effective.