Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997)

Regisseur:

Bille August

Drehbuchautoren (WGA):

Peter Høeg (novel)
Ann Biderman (screenplay)

Premierendatum:

28. Februar 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Thriller

Werbezeile:

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:

Icelandic | Neighbor | Eskimo | Underwater Scene | Dog

Filmpreise:

1 nomination

Nutzerkommentare:

Two thirds of a great film.

Besetzung

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

Alternativ:

Fräulein Smillas Gespür für Schnee (Deutschland)
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.

Länge:

121 Min

Produktionsland:

Denmark | Deutschland | Sweden

Sprache:

Englisch | Inuktitut

Farbe:

Farbe

Seitenverhältnis:

2.35 : 1

Tonverfahren:

Dolby Digital

Altersfreigabe:

Singapore:NC-16 | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Denmark:15 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | South Korea:18 | Australia:M | Argentina:16 | Canada:14A | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Netherlands:12 | Portugal:M/12 | Spain:13 | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:R

Drehorte:

Bavaria Studios, Munich, Bavaria, Germany

Firma:

Bavaria Film

Pannen:

Abfolgefehler: When Capt. Lukas is first seen in the casino, he has black hair (head, eyebrows, mustache) with just a little gray in the temples. The next day on this ship, all of his hair is gray.

Dialogzitate:

Tork: Death is always a waste. But sometimes it's the only way to arouse people.

Bezüge zu anderen Titeln:

Verweis/Anspielung/Erwähnung in "Family Guy: Chick Cancer (#5.7)" (2006)

Two thirds of a great film.

Bille August's "Smilla's Sense of Snow" starts off with great promise. An opening sequence that's a terrific hook segues into an introduction of the character of Smilla Jasperson, played perfectly by the lovely Julia Ormond. Smilla is self-isolated, deeply unhappy, and unapproachable. Her only real friend is the young Inuit boy, Isaiah, who dies suddenly under suspicious circumstances, and Smilla determines to uncover the reasons for his death. For the first two reels, this film is a terrific mystery story with good pacing, fine acting, and evocative cinematography. Characters with uncertain motives come and go as the story unfolds, most played by a fine stable of talented actors. But then in the third reel, the film collapses. I'm not talking about a slow descent into mediocrity here; I'm talking about a precipitous nosedive. Out of the blue, the story suddenly switches to an action/thriller format that is poorly written, directed, and edited. New, undeveloped characters are suddenly thrown into the mix, each a deus ex machina as the increasingly unrealistic plot requires. The film's denouement, in which the underlying mystery is revealed, is so scientifically ridiculous both in terms of biology and especially in physics that I felt thoroughly cheated. It's as if the entire enterprise were rushed to completion due to a looming shortage of time, money, and interest. What a pity. Even so, the first two thirds of the film stand up well on their own, and my rating is based on that. Rating: 7/10.