For the second year in a row, I’m watching a Norwegian Christmas film pairing a local with someone of Indian descent. This can’t be coincidence, can it? Is Norwegian culture obsessed with India or something? Are Norwegians just dying to share Christmas with Indians? Lemme know, Norway? Cuz I am baffled as to where and how this particular demographic plotting is coming from.
For a tale that is not really about romance or snow or Christmas or sisters, The Snow Sister has a little of each. A little goes a long way here, and not always for good.
Julian (Mudit Gupta) is a lost tween. His older sister Juni died earlier this year and as the holidays approach, his parents have essentially stopped parenting. They just don’t have it in them to do necessary family things like hang Christmas decoratio
ns or care where their 12-year-old son is after dark. Julian takes his troubles to the local Y, where he finds himself in a bit of a fishbowl, for a cheery girl with a bright smile and curly red hair is fascinated by Julian’s swimming. It’s not every day that li’l orphan Henie takes time out of snow routine to stare in at you swimming, now, is it?
Turns out that Hedwig (Celina Meyer Hovland) is a denizen of Winter’s Nest, the most Christmassy Christmas home of them all. And, you know what? Hedwig has an angry itch to show it to Julian. As of the story weren’t weird already, this is where it kicks up a notch. First, Hedwig seems tragically alone. Dude, where ar
e your parents and sibs? Who put up a Christmas tree in every room, including the closet? And then, Hedwig herself is the most off-putting happy child of all time. She’s just randomly there and then smiles and giggles inappropriately. What is her deal? Is this a bad translation (which is 100% possible) or does Hedwig just not know how to act? Or has the movie just been dubbed so badly that Godzilla is going to show up any second now?
The Snow Sister is an odd film with odd people behaving oddly. Do we chalk it up to a desire to make a unique Christmas film? Honestly, I have no idea. It was hard to get invested when I couldn’t figure out plot or motivation. And, in retrospect, yeah, it was still hard to get invested. I guess I felt for the kid who lost his sister, but not enough to recommend the film.
A kid at the Norwegian “Y”
Has a voyeur who’d stop by and spy
She showed him her palace
And without any malice
Still managed to make us question, “why?”
Not Rated, 96 Minutes
Director: Cecilie A. Mosli
Writer: Lisa Aisato, Maja Lunde, Div Rajendram Eliassen
Genre: Weird young love
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Tragic people
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: “Will somebody please make that girl less awkward?! PLEASE?!”
