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Smilla's Sense of Snow

Play trailer Poster for Smilla's Sense of Snow R 1997 2h 1m Mystery & Thriller Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
53% Tomatometer 32 Reviews 57% Popcornmeter 5,000+ Ratings
Police say otherwise, but scientist Smilla Jaspersen thinks her young neighbor was chased by an adult before he fell to his death. An Inuit who spent her childhood in Greenland, Smilla learns that the boy's father died while working for Dr. Andreas Tork in Greenland. After sharing her murder theory with an increasingly mysterious friend called The Mechanic, she heads back to Greenland in the hope of finding a link between the deaths.

Critics Reviews

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Nell Minow Movie Mom 01/03/2003
2/5
The idiotic ending seems to belong to another movie. Go to Full Review
Mike Clark USA Today 01/01/2000
3/4
This tough-to-peg whodunit keeps you going for two hours, despite a few James Bond-ish (or Jane Bond-ish) turns that play less preposterously than you might assume were they to be divulged. Go to Full Review
Roger Ebert Chicago Sun-Times 01/01/2000
3/4
Here is a movie so absorbing, so atmospheric, so suspenseful and so dumb, that it proves my point: The subject matter doesn't matter in a movie nearly as much as mood, tone and style. Go to Full Review
Nick Rogers Midwest Film Journal Feb 18
2.5/5
Kudos for a goofily watchable story that ends in about the last place you’d expect given the introductory murder premise. At the same time, it squanders its murderer's row of supporting performers. Go to Full Review
Cole Smithey ColeSmithey.com 02/07/2007
4/5
Bad title, good movie. Go to Full Review
Rob Thomas Capital Times (Madison, WI) 11/10/2005
3/5
An atmospheric and enjoyably preposterous mystery. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Elke M @RT88026139 May 1 I absolutely love this movie! It always stayed with me! It’s so touching and obviously Hans Zimmer’s music is superb as always! See more 10/23/2020 The most entertaining part was listening to Jürgen Vogels English. See more brendan n @RT81293130 06/15/2020 Smilla's Sense of Snow vanished after VHS release and I was unable to track it down until now. The cast is incredible and when you view the style of the film, you can understand the attraction. The issue of the film is the overall storyline's ambition. The pacing might turn people off and the mixed response is a prime example of this. I like films that are slow and character/plot driven so the mixed reviews don't mean a lot to me. The camera work is impressive and I was quite shocked that the explosions appeared so cheap. The film is a slow burn and it does have some unexpected twists that I hadn't expected. The novel plot points are evident and this is why the 90s high-concept films fell to the side. Good film if you're patient. 15/06/2020 See more 10/23/2019 This movie has a preposterous story, but great actors, great acting and very good cinematography. It follows the novel closely but in my opinion exceeds it in its remarkable atmospheric detail. For those who are fans of great acting, however, it cannot be denied that the directing is outstanding. The only miscasting was Richard Harris. Watch it on a cold winter day with the fireplace casting a glow. See more 07/02/2019 Smilla is Inuit for mucho contrived.Drivel. See more 02/21/2015 good thriller and a movie where the weather is another character-gr8 job! See more Read all reviews
Smilla's Sense of Snow

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Movie Info

Synopsis Police say otherwise, but scientist Smilla Jaspersen thinks her young neighbor was chased by an adult before he fell to his death. An Inuit who spent her childhood in Greenland, Smilla learns that the boy's father died while working for Dr. Andreas Tork in Greenland. After sharing her murder theory with an increasingly mysterious friend called The Mechanic, she heads back to Greenland in the hope of finding a link between the deaths.
Director
Bille August
Producer
Bernd Eichinger, Martin Moszkowicz
Screenwriter
Ann Biderman, Peter Høeg
Distributor
Fox Searchlight
Production Co
Bavaria Film, Nordisk Film
Rating
R
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Feb 28, 1997, Original
Release Date (Streaming)
Nov 30, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA)
$2.3M
Runtime
2h 1m