Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:30
Fresh:17
Rotten:13
Average Rating:6.1/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 5 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Present-day Copenhagen. Six-year-old Greenlander Isaiah falls from an apartment-building roof. The police claim it was an accident. But Smilla Jasperson (Julia Ormond) knows Isaiah was afraid of... Present-day Copenhagen. Six-year-old Greenlander Isaiah falls from an apartment-building roof. The police claim it was an accident. But Smilla Jasperson (Julia Ormond) knows Isaiah was afraid of heights. She is an expert in snow and, after examining his tracks, is sure Isaiah was terrified when he ran off the roof. The heroine of Peter Hĝeg's novel SMILLA'S SENSE OF SNOW is a unique creation--half Greenlander, always an outsider, she is spiky, determined, and brilliant. In Bille August's movie, the beautiful Ormond conveys Smilla's intelligence and hostility as, full of suspicion and resentment, she investigates. She questions police and medical experts, discovering a muscle sample was taken from Isaiah's leg after he died. She ferrets out officials of the mining company where Isaiah's father worked before dying on a secret expedition. She learns from Elsa Lübing (Vanessa Redgrave) that the company keeps two sets of files. And she discovers there are those who want her investigation to stop. Sometimes helped, sometimes hindered by the mysterious Mechanic (Gabriel Byrne), Smilla pursues the riddle of Isaiah's death. [More]
Starring: Julia Ormond, Gabriel Byrne, Richard Harris, Robert Loggia
Starring: Julia Ormond, Gabriel Byrne, Richard Harris, Robert Loggia, Vanessa Redgrave
Director: Bille August
Director: Bille August
Screenwriter: Ann Biderman
Producer: Bernd Eichinger, Martin Moszkowicz
Composer: Harry Gregson-Williams, Hans Zimmer
Reviews for Smilla's Sense of Snow
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Bad title, good movie.
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An atmospheric and enjoyably preposterous mystery.
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Fascinating setting and strong performances make up for the far-fetched plotting.
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A truly outlandish twist that would be more at home in a no-brainer Hollywood action film than in what purports to be an intelligent adult thriller. Full Review |
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Odd, atmospheric thriller that completely falls apart in the finale
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The idiotic ending seems to belong to another movie.
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An underrated and effective thriller, buoyed by a fine performance from Julia Ormond.
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Reveals zeal to be a virtue when it is put into practice as service of others. Full Review |
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