Smilla's Feeling for Snow (1997)
"Smilla's Sense of Snow" (original title)

Based on Peter Hoeg's bestseller, this film is set in snowy Copenhagen where a small boy is found dead after he fell off a roof. Smilla Jasperson, a close friend who lives in the same house... See full summary »

Director:

Bille August

Writers:

Peter Høeg (novel), Ann Biderman (screenplay)

Stars:

Ona Fletcher, Julia Ormond, Agga Olsen

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ona Fletcher	...	Inuit Hunter
Julia Ormond	...	Smilla Jasperson
Agga Olsen	...	Juliane Christiansen
Patrick Field	...	Policeman
Matthew Marsh	...	Detective
Gabriel Byrne	...	The Mechanic
Jim Broadbent	...	Dr. Lagermann
Tom Wilkinson	...	Prof. Loyen
Charlotte Bradley	...	Mrs. Lagermann
Richard Harris	...	Dr. Andreas Tork
Charles Lewsen	...	Pastor (as Charles Lewson)
Robert Loggia	...	Moritz Jasperson
Emma Croft	...	Benja
Bob Peck	...	Ravn
Ann Queensberry	...	Mrs. Schou

Storyline

Based on Peter Hoeg's bestseller, this film is set in snowy Copenhagen where a small boy is found dead after he fell off a roof. Smilla Jasperson, a close friend who lives in the same house begins to suspect murder because she knows that the boy was afraid of heights and would not have played on the roof. As she begins to investigate, she is pulled deeper and deeper into a conspiracy that could very well mean her death.

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Plot Keywords:

boy | roof | greenland | snow | conspiracy | 

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Taglines:

Snow covers everything...except the truth

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence and a sex scene

Details

Country:

Denmark Germany Sweden

Language:

English Inuktitut

Release Date:

28 February 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Smila: Misterio en la nieve

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Studios, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$107,108 (USA) (28 February 1997)

Gross:

ITL 2,100,896,000 (Italy) (2 May 1997)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bavaria Film, Constantin Film Produktion, Det Danske Filminstitut

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Bille August has later admitted that the film did not turn out as well as he had hoped. He said that in hindsight there was an inherent problem ever since the script stage of transforming the qualities of Peter Høeg's novel into film.

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Goofs

When Smilla's father is showing her the X-rays of the worms in the heart, he points out "what remains of the liver, lower oesophagus...this is the heart...what's left of it". He is actually pointing to an upside-down X-ray of the upper abdomen and the "heart" is actually just bowel gas in the intestine.

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Quotes

Mechanic: Smilla, why does such a nice person have such a rough mouth?
Smilla: I'm sorry I've given you the impression it's my mouth that's rough. I try to be rough all over.

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Connections

References Nanook of the North (1922)

User Reviews

A game try, but this film comes up short.

I caught up with this movie on cable recently: the film boasts a good director, Bille August, & a fine lead performance by Julia Ormond. But the premise of the movie proves to be so far-flung & far-fetched as to resemble "The Perils of Pauline". And who cast Robert Loggia in this? A bizarre choice, to be sure. I don't think I could sit through this one again.