Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997)

User Rating:

6.1/10   

Director:

Bille August

Writers (WGA):

Peter Høeg (novel)
Ann Biderman (screenplay)

Release Date:

28 February 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Tagline:

Snow covers everything...except the truth

Plot:

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...

Plot Keywords:

Roof | Greenland | Young Boy | Snow | Conspiracy

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

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

Also Known As:

Fräulein Smillas Gespür für Schnee (Germany)
Fröken Smillas känsla för snö (Sweden)
Frøken Smillas fornemmelse for sne (Denmark)
Smilla's Feeling for Snow (UK)

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some violence and a sex scene.

Runtime:

121 min

Country:

Denmark | Germany | Sweden

Language:

English | Inuktitut

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Denmark:15 | Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | South Korea:12 | Argentina:16 | Canada:14A | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Bavaria Studios, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Company:

Bavaria Film

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.

Goofs:

Factual errors: On the boat while listening to the tape, Licht tells Smilla that there is an EEG monitoring someone's heart. EEGs measure brain waves; EKGs (also called ECGs) measure heart rate and electrical activity.

Quotes:

Smilla: The number system is like human life. First you have the natural numbers. The ones that are whole and positive. Like the numbers of a small child. But human consciousness expands. The child discovers longing. Do you know the mathematical expression for longing? The negative numbers. The formalization of the feeling that you're missing something.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Simpsons: Skinner's Sense of Snow (#12.8)" (2000)

Julia Ormond shows American "tough" women they're not in her league

I know what you're thinking, "Not another movie about people from Greenland, Indians, murder, meteors, and prehistoric worms!" Yes, it's the same old formula we've all seen a hundred times, but Smilla makes it fresh as snow. This is an odd film, constantly ducking and weaving so the viewer is off balance. Also, watching it feels extremely foreign, even though it's in English! There's a lot going on and in the end, the whole isn't quite up to the sum of the parts, but it's enjoyable nonetheless. Julia Ormond is criminally beautiful, yet manages to be as tough as a fall on ice. Acting throughout is first rate (even for famous international players who only have a few lines). So you fans of Scandinavian mysteries concerning deaf children and new energy sources, see it! And what a great title