Smilla's Sense of Snow

Based upon the bestseller by Peter Hoeg, "Miss Smilla's feeling for snow", it would have been hard for the movie to disappoint. The performances by all are exceptional, not least Julia Ormonds portrayal of Smilla, as icy as the landscape that involves (and evolves) the movie. The movie has an almost poetic feel, so beautifully is it paced, and the story draws you in steadily as Smilla searched for the truth behind her young friends death. There are enough surprises, twists and turns to keep most people happy, and the warmth of the two leads performances are in great contrast to the snow that provides the story. I couldn't recommend this story enough to fans of the book, or anyone who is interested in seeing a movie that is not your ordinary run of the mill hollywood movie, but one with depth, character and genuine emotion.

Superb.

This is not a movie about how Inuit hunt for seals. Smilla lives in present day Copenhagen. This movie is anything but formulaic. It is part murder mystery, part paranoid thriller with faceless villains like the Conversation, part James Bond, with a drop of science fiction, and like none of those all that much.

The victim of a possible murder is a 6 year old boy whom you gradually get to know and care for deeply via flash backs of his tragic life.

One of the themes is trust. Smilla never knows whom she can trust. We in the audience weave back and forth trying to decide who is truly trying to help her and who to kill her or at least deflect her from her quest of finding out why and how someone would harm that little boy.

The movie is a maddening puzzle with clues coming thick and fast, but nothing making much sense. All you know is some very powerful people are involved and are ruthless in keeping silence. Smilla takes huge risks to gather information she has no particular reason to believe may be relevant other than others seem to be hiding it. Like a standard mystery novel, all is finally explained.

One interesting twist is, you in the audience even begin to distrust the caustic Smilla with her one-pointed push for vengeance.

Usually in a movie with a great many characters, I often find it hard to keep from confusing them. In this movie, the characters are all distinctly drawn, partly with a rich mixture of accents, so I had no such problem.

Some of the casting choices seemed a bit off, in particular Smilla's father's new teenage wife, Benja, who was obviously much older than a teenager, which made some of Smilla's cracks about her age not ring true.

This mystery picture begins on a crashing-meteor opening and concerns about Smilla(Julia Ormond), a lonely scientist resident in Copenhagen. The grumpy Smilla is an half-America and half-Inuit with many problems of adaptation and her father(Robert Loggia) is a rich financier. When she returns home discovers the body of six-years-old friend named Isaiah(Miano) nearly her apartment building. Smilla believes the kid was killed and starts investigating , it leads to the Greenland mining company that is owner the magnate Tork(Richard Harris). Meanwhile she falls in love with her suspicious neighbor(Gabriel Byrne).

The picture based on Peter Hoeg's best seller novel packs suspense,thrills,intrigue, tension and interesting character study. The story is well developed though its final fail to sustain the outcome and is a little bit crappy. Suspenseful and mysterious musical score by Hans Zimmer and Harry Gregson-Williams. Exceptional secondary casting mostly formed by British actors such as Jim Broadbent,Vanessa Redgrave,Bob Peck, Tom Wilkinson, among them. Evocative and cold cinematography is consistently created by Jorgen Persson, Billie August's usual cameraman.Location photography is particularly breathtaking with impressive images like a large icebreaker ship, snowy outdoors and giant floes thawing, among others. This partially successful first attempt at the thriller and tense mystery is efficiently directed by August. Billie is the Danish's best director, an expert on intelligent dramas as ¨Pelle the conqueror¨which took the best foreign-language film Oscar , ¨Twist and shout¨,¨The best intentions¨, ¨House of spirits¨, and ¨Les Miserables¨. Rating : Well worth seeing, better than average.

A scientist who heads up a mining company in Greenland discovers a way to make money and garner power. However, in doing so he endangers others. After a child supposedly commits suicide, a woman who has doubts about the death begins an investigation in behalf of the dead boy. Her life is then threatened, but she never gives up. Eventually, she comes face to face with her enemies on a lonely ice floe far to the north. At times the story was hard to follow, and I felt it had a few holes in it. Sometimes it just didn't make sense. Still, it was worth the seeing.

I really, really, really liked this movie. Yes, I know the plot was a little twisted and the ending was very confusing and somewhat unbelievable at times, but this was a great movie. Julia Ormond's portrayal of the ice princess is absolutely fantastic. This has got to be her best role ever. With SSOS, she proves that she is not just a movie star, but that she is also a damn good actress. The supporting cast is superb. All first class actors, Vannasa Redgrave, Richard Harris, and Gabriel Byrne. I love Byrne's portrayal of the mysterious mechanic. Yes, he could have done a better job but that didn't hurt the movie. I have heard so much criticism from others regarding this film but the bottom line is, you either love it or hate it. I happen to love it. This is a great thriller/mystery/sci-fi/drama. Did I mention Gabriel Byrne, as good looking as ever? 9/10