Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997)

A 6 y.o. Inuit boy runs off a snowy roof in Copenhagen and dies. Smilla, a half Inuit who lives in the building and knows the boy, looks into it. What makes an acrophobic boy run up on the roof? The clues take her to Greenland.

Director:

Bille August

Writers:

Peter Høeg (novel), Ann Biderman (screenplay)

Stars:

Julia Ormond, Jens Jørgen Fleischer, Agga Olsen

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jens Jørgen Fleischer	...	Inuit Hunter (as Ona Fletcher)
Julia Ormond	...	Smilla Jaspersen
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 Jaspersen
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:

snow | female protagonist | character name in title | f rated | boy | 

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Taglines:

Snow covers everything...except the truth

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Sci-Fi | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some violence and a sex scene

Did You Know?

Trivia

Vanessa Redgrave played Guenevere opposite Richard Harris' Arthur in Camelot.

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Goofs

Moritz refers to the uterus of the arctic worm. Only mammals have uteri.

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Quotes

[On the subject of love]
Smilla: I've been trying to avoid it all my life, so now it's here I just want to renounce it.

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Connections

Referenced in The X Files (1998)

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Soundtracks

Quis est homo
(from Stabat Mater)
Written by Giovanni Battista Pergolesi
performed by Kammerorchester 'Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach'
conducted by Hartmut Haenchen

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.

Details

Country:

Denmark Germany Sweden

Language:

English Inuktitut

Release Date:

28 February 1997 (USA)

Also Known As:

Smilla's Sense of Snow

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Studios, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Box Office

Budget:

$35,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$107,108, 2 March 1997

Gross USA:

$2,372,903

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$2,372,903

Company Credits

Production Co:

Constantin Film, Smilla Film A-S, Greenland Film Production

Technical Specs

Runtime:

121 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1