Black Snow

"Black Snow" is a thriller drama movie in which we watch a man who after was accused of killing his brother lives alone in Patagonia. Many years later his brother with his wife pays him a visit in order to convince him to sell the land he lives for all of his life in order for all the siblings to share their part from the inheritance of their father. Everything will change after that visit, from their relationship to the lives of everyone.

I liked this movie very much because it's a mystery thriller movie which has plenty of twists and turns that I believe makes this movie very interesting. In addition to this, I have to say that it's a highly mysterious and cerebral thriller, filled with plot twists that will keep you intense for the whole duration of the movie. I also liked the interpretations of Ricardo Darín who played as Salvador / Brother and he nailed his role for one more time, Leonardo Sbaraglia who played as Marcos / Brother and Laia Costa who played as Laura / Marcos's wife. The direction which was made by Martin Hodara was simply amazing and I believe his contribution it can be observed in the whole movie.

Finally, I believe that "Black Snow" is a very good movie and I strongly recommend for everyone to see it because I am sure that you are going to have a great time watching it and you are going to love it. Even if you have high hopes or high expectations for this movie I think that you won't be disappointed by it.

After the death of his father, Marcos (Leonardo Sbaraglia) and his young pregnant wife Laura (Laia Costa) travel from Spain to Argentina to see his estranged brother Salvador (Ricardo Darín) to discuss the inheritance left by their father. He visits his sister Sabrina (Dolores Fonzi), who is inmate of a psychiatric institute, and the old family friend Sepia (Federico Luppi), who tells Marco and Laura that a Canadian company offered nine million dollars per their land in Patagonia, where Salvador lives alone in a cabin as a hermit. Marcos also receives his father's ashes with the request to be buried with his son Juan. Salvador is accused of murdering his brother Juan in a family hunting many years ago when they were adolescents and then he was scorned and abused by his father along his life. Marcos and Laura are not welcomed by Salvador, and she learns that the Canadians have offered eleven million dollars to the brothers. However, Salvador is not interested in selling the lands and asks them to leave his house. Marcos and Laura are surprised by a storm and Marcos crashes his car in a snowbank, and Laura decides to return to Salvador's house where a tragedy happens, and dark family secrets are disclosed.

"Nieve Negra", a.k.a. "Black Snow" (2017), is a disappointing Argentinian-Spanish movie about dark family secrets. The storyline is not bad, but there are points that destroy the film. The non-linear screenplay does not work and is annoying, and the slow pace makes some parts boring. The characters are awful, and Marcos (47 years old in 2017) looks like the father of Laura (32 years old in 2017). When the dark secrets are disclosed in the end and the viewer learns what happened to Juan, the plot improves. But Laura, with her expressionless face, hides them and the viewer will certainly question whether she is a greedy woman that forced the incident to have 11 million dollars. The cinematography is very beautiful but the open end destroys the plot. My vote is four.

Title (Brazil): "Neve Negra" ("Black Snow")

Decent mystery thriller with plenty of twists , turns and a suspenseful finale . This is an acceptable flick about Marcos (Leonardo Sbaraglia) and his wife Laura (Laia Costa) go back to Argentina to bury the ashes of his father , there Marcos receives an important offer by a high-powered businessman called Sepia (Federico Luppi) . But Marcos has to convince his brother , the shy as well as grumpy Salvador (Ricardo Darin) , to sell the cottage and lands they share by inheritance from their recently deceased father . After several decades without watching , Salvador who was accused of murder his brother long time ago , is , nowadays , a revengeful and angry person . As the unsociable Salvador is an upsetting and depressed man who lives isolated at an inaccessible location in the middle of Patagonia . But events are about to get even worse when dark secrets return . Would you be able to keep a secret?

This ¨Black snow¨ contains complex mysteries , emotional thrills , suspense and a depressing finale . Hitchcock style psychological mystery , being passable and professional but hardly directed . This is a highly mysterious and cerebral thriller , filled with plot twists , including an unexpected denouement in its final part . As there takes place the ruthless as well as violent crossing among siblings and in which being revived the the old confrontation where the characters of killer and victim are changed over and over again . The original as well entertaining premise is overspread across the movie adding some brief conventional pitfalls . However , the picture turns out to be slow-moving and sometimes tiring , including a difficult pacing , though at its ending finale it gets better , at last . The cast is frankly good , such as Leonardo Sbaraglia as the astute brother who comes to convince to sell the lands that they share by inheritance . Top-notch Ricardo Darin as the unbalanced , unhinged brother who lives alone in the middle of Patagonia and who still stands accused of murdering his brother during adolescence . And Laia Costa as his beautiful sister-in-law with whom has a particular relationship . Support cast is pretty nice such as : Federico Luppi as the selfish businessman , Biel Montoro as young Marcos , Liah O'Prey as young Sabrina and Mikel Iglesias as young Salvador . Special mention for Dolores Fonzi at a brief acting as the nutty Sabrina locked at a asylum .

The film was compellingly produced by a Spain/Argentina team as Axel Kuschevatzky , Fernando Riera , Manuel Monzón , Fernando Abadi , Adolfo Blanco , Maria Luisa Gutiérrez , Javier Beltramino , Pablo Bossi , all of them have financed a great number of hits in the new Spanish/Argentinean cinema . This increasingly potent thriller displays a colorful and luxurious cinematography by Arnau Valls Colomer . This fine cameraman photographs perfectly the cold environment , set in the middle of a lonely , snowy place , being filmed in Spain , Patagonia in Agentina and some frames were filmed in Andorra searching for real snow attempting to substitute the Patagonia . Furthermore , a stirring and thrilling score by Zacarias De La Riva . This new film by writer/director Martin Odara was compelling and professionally directed . Odara previously realized short movies , and worked as Second Unit Director or Assistant Director , such as : ¨The aura¨, ¨9 Reinas¨, ¨La Edad Del Sol¨ , ¨Secret of the Andes¨ , ¨Faro Del Sur¨ , ¨Caza De Eichmann¨, among others . Being this his second film , the first was : ¨La Señal¨ with Diego Peretti , Carlos Bardem and Ricardo Darin again . ¨Black Snow¨ is well worth watching and it packs several thrilling as well as suspenseful scenes .

Black snow, or red snow, would be more appropriate, from the beginning we are sure that the sinister happened, and it's not like it was resumed, avalanche, accidents (?!?! I don't think so), a wonderful production, great script, gradually unraveling the mystery, through flashbacks, leaving us curious, captivating, the truncated relationship between the brothers, until, finally, the outcome, predictable (maybe), tragic, cold (like the blizzard climate), intelligent, sad, excellent latin production...

I am aware the words "family drama" are not the most appealing in the world. Let´s face it, too many times they´re just... boring. I hate to use that word to put down films but in it´s often justified. Sometimes I run across films like this one and it´s such a nice feeling.

This is a great drama. It has an awesome use of flashbacks, a satisfying sense of place and pace, the plot unfolds patiently, not dreadfully, it renews the trite characterization of Ricardo Darín and puts the beautiful presence of Laia Costa to good use. It has mystery, surprises and just the right amount of social background. It´s a great film, totally recommended.