
in junior high, i would occasionally tag along to the supermarket with my mom when she was buying groceries. sometimes i'd join her strolling through the aisles to pick up the various goods but most often i'd gravitate to the small movie rental section that the store near our house contained. we never rented videos from blockbuster or the other big chains, but would get one with some groceries every now and again. stranger still, kroger's often included a small publication listing what was new to their story with reviews included. i'd usually grab one to read on the ride home since at that point i already was interested in movies and their reviews.
one such issue had a special section on the "sleeper of the month." i was unfamiliar with the term and thought it bizarre that the magazine wanted to tout something specifically that was going to induce sleep due to its awfulness. to increase the dissonance, the article went on to describe the movie in positive terms which stuck with me for whatever reason. that movie was smilla's sense of snow. about thirteen years later, i've finally caught up with it thanks to netflix.
from the review i read so many years ago, i just recalled that it was a mystery and somewhat of a mood piece starring several people i had never heard of. turns out my memory served me fairly decently, although now i recognized most of the actors. julia ormond in the title role, gabriel byrne (usual suspects), tom wilkinson (michael clayton), jim broadbent (harry potter and the half blood prince), peter capaldi (in the loop) and others filled parts.
the movie itself was a murder mystery, although it quickly got away from the moodier elements. the story starts small and realistic and while it maintained its close focus, the movie hums along nicely. unfortunately, it begins to sprawl and suddenly one woman's quest for truth transforms her into a super spy, which subsequently dampened my enjoyment.
apparently, smilla's sense of snow is based on a novel that grasped with issues of identity and nationality, especially as it pertains to inuits in greenland and denmark. shoehorned into hitting all the murder mystery plot points, the movie only touches on it glancingly to its detriment.
and yet, i enjoyed it. i can only wonder if i would've enjoyed it at that younger age, but something tells me i wouldn't have; maybe it's for the best that i didn't see it until recently.