Crappy film

Clever and entertaining enough to recommend even to members of the 1%

One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Smilla's Sense Of Snow is a fascinating snowbound thriller that you never think will end up in the places it does, based on how we enter the story. It begins with a striking, enigmatic prologue set I the north. An Inuit ice fisher witnesses a massive meteor descend upon the tundra, and races to escape with his sled and dogs. Flash to Copenhagen, where we meet moody, emotionally challenged Smilla, played by Julia Ormond in a career best for the actress, showing an icily inaccessible protagonist, clearly damaged by an unconventional childhood, who slowly melts into a warmer person through the bond she forms with a young Inuit boy, son of a drunken, neglectful mother. When the boy is found dead in an apparent suicide, Smilla refuses to accept the prognosis and feverishly hunts for clues as to what might have really happened. She's led, along with the plot, to some outcomes so unexpected and outlandish that at times we feel like we're in a pseudo Bond film, as the intimate, personal first act gives way to some fantastical, somewhat far fetched elements which I won't spoil here. This was a deal breaker for a lot of critics and confused many viewers, which could have contributed to the film's lack of success, but I find these aspects interesting, adding to the film's refusal to play by generic narrative rules and yearning to take us somewhere we truly couldn't guess. Others are drawn into the intrigue, including mysterious Gabriel Byrne as a mechanic who is more than he seems, Bob 'clever girl' Peck as a prying government operative, Tom Wilkinson aRobert an amoral researcher, Loggia as Smilla's debonair father, Jim Broadbent as a suspicious doctor, Peter Capaldi, and Richard 'Dumbledore Harris' as a shady scientific prick. It can all seem like a muddle for some people, and indeed many pan it for being too odd and unpredictable. I love it though. Ormond has never been better, we feel her pain of losing the child right when he was the only thing in her life that brought forth warmth from her, in an otherwise chilly persona. That emotion is a steady beacon of guiding light for us to grasp onto in a story that's filled with all too many icy, unfeeling aspects. A winner for me, there's nothing quite like it.

I really liked the main characters - a strong but seemingly cold-hearted woman and her strange neighbor who manages to be attractive and pitiful at the same time. One of the rare movies in which I was as much interested in the characters and their development as in the story line.Unfortunately half-way through the movie the events become more and more unbelievable and convoluted. People get killed, stuff explodes and our half-Inuit heroine goes through it like Lara Croft, with the difference that she keeps surviving not by skill or guns but by pure chance. The ending seems taken from an 80's James Bond movie. Disappointing for those of us who are not fond of evil scientist / mysterious forces clichés.

This movie promises to be great but fails to deliver. Julia Ormond is gorgeous and her character is intriguing. It starts out as a tight suspenseful thriller, but comes completely unraveled at the end. A lot is made of Smilla's knowledge of snow but it's only used once. She has a deep interest in mathematics that is not used at all except to make a neat little speech about numbers.The film becomes implausible towards the end and the finale must have been grafted on from a tawdry B science fiction movie. I can't remember a more ludicrous explanation in any movie ever. Very disappointing after the good start.

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.