Snowland (2005) User Reviews

The old sequences make it worth seeing

[Horst_In_Translation · 6/10 · 3 March 2017]

"Schneeland" or "Snowland" is a German German-language film directed by the now 75-year-old Hans W. Geissendörfer. It is possibly the most known work of his career and he also adapted the novel by Elisabeth Rynell. According to the plot summary here on IMDb, the center of the film is the story of a woman who loses her husband in a terrible accident and needs to find a way back into life. I disagree strongly with this though. These parts are just the frame of it all and I perfectly could have done with out them. I may be a bit biased as I never really liked Maria Schrader and don't see lead actress potential in here, but there are also more than just a few example of overacting in this one here. It is almost desperate how she and the filmmaker try to make her story relevant again during several occasions in this film, but honestly I personally just felt as if they were breaking the other story by interrupting it and this kept the film from becoming really good.

This other story is the one that involves Jentsch, Mühe, Kretschmann and others. This film came out the very same year the Oscar-nominated "Sophie Scholl" (starring Jentsch) was released and one year before the Oscar-winning "Das Leben der Anderen" (starring Mühe) was released, so it shows you that the actors here were really at their best at that point. They show it in this one. I especially liked how Mühe portrayed a character that was as much of an evil dad as he was of a tortured soul and it is a great example of how strong Mühe could dive into characters. In theory, I would have said the role does not fit him, but he absolutely made it his own and he would have deserved (more) awards recognition here as well. The film scored some awards attention though, especially for cinematographer Hans-Günther Bücking, who won a Bavarian Film Award and German Film Award for his work here. Admittedly, with all the snowy landscapes in here, it is a thankful job for a cinematographer, but I still think he was pretty decent. This is a really long movie at easily over two hours. As such, it almost never drags, which is quite an achievement and the bleakness of the entire setting plus the performances of the characters in the flashback scenes made it a compelling story at times. Maybe I shouldn't say flashback scene as it's maybe at least 85% of the film and at this number the much more crucial plot and story line. I just wish they would have kept this film entirely in the past as I already wrote early on. It's still a good film this way it turned out, but that way it could have been even better at 105 minutes perhaps. Go check it out.

Very powerful Nordic film touts taboo subjects

[chitownclark · 9/10 · 8 March 2005]

Hans Geissendorfer's "Schneeland" or Snowland provided one of the most gripping, emotional evenings of theater I've experienced.

The film was premiered in the U.S. at the '05 Sundance Film Festival in January. Geissendorfer was there and answered questions from the audience after the film.

Altho most reviews of the film seem to focus on the modern-day story of the German woman who is desperately depressed, the real story is of Inna and her abusive father on a subsistence farm in Depression-era Lapland. The manner that Geissendorfer makes us aware of the linkage between the two women over the years generates unexpected emotional results.

Here is a real story, told beautifully, with a surprising ending that leaves us with a sense of satisfaction and hope.

I think most reviewers who've rated the film so low were reacting to the taboo topic of parental molestation, and the grim politically-incorrect circumstances of the film. But these are issues that humans have had to deal with for their entire history, right up to today. To see such a story told honestly, grippingly, and so beautifully, makes "Schneeland" my nomination for my best film experience in the past year.