Snøsøsteren (2024)

	Directed by: Cecilie A. Mosli	INTERNATIONAL TITLE The Snow Sister COUNTRY Norway/USA GENRE Drama/Family RUNNING TIME 96 minutes
	Produced by: Brede Hovland
	Written by (based on the book by Lisa Aisato and Maja Lunde): Siv Rajendram Eliassen

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Julian	Mudit Gupta	½
Hedwig	Celina Meyer Hovland
Henrik	Jan Sælid
Julian's Mother	Sampda Sharma	-
Julian's Father	Gunnar Eiriksson	-
Augusta	Advika Bal	-

Review

This adaptation of Maja Lunde and Lisa Aisato's acclaimed illustrated novel lacks the visual and narrative inventiveness of the original work, but still has enough elements to make for a pleasant little family Christmas movie. One of these is Celina Meyer Hovland in the role of Hedwig. She has just the right bubbly personality and almost manages to convey the combo of otherworldliness and ordinary girl-next-door that is crucial for the film to be able to balance on the border between magical escapism and sentimental realism. When it doesn't quite, it's because the director, Cecilie A. Mosli, at times fails to bring her collection of clichés together as a poignant whole, making the film feel too contrived in parts. This includes the attractive but glossy cinematography. Luckily, the ending, albeit telegraphed, manages to lift the story back to its weighty potential thanks to a remarkably moving scene in which Meyer Hovland dazzles – literally.