Snowman's Land

In the dark realm of comedic exposition, films come and go. Location is always a factor. Dark and cold tend to coexist as partners in a loop.(Think Fargo) And this film displays both the dark, in humor, and the cold within the setting.

The emotional setting is clearly set in opening pieces to amusing extent. The acting and character development support this quite well.

Soooooo.....

Our aging, anti-hero,(a hit man) kills the wrong guy, in a botched job, and ruins his own dwindling reputation as a killer to the effect that he has been put to pasture. A former colleague offers him a job baby-sitting a former client that had been reported as dead. "Former" is an operative term here.

Our guy accepts the job, stoically, and goes forth into the dark unknown of the wintered Carpathian mountains in Eastern Europe to fatefully encounter yet another former colleague whose wits seem at odds with his lack of...well...wit.

They soon learn that all is not well in this frigid paradise, as a wonderfully cliché, gangster, bitch shows up and happens to enjoy being the clients toy. She has her own agenda and somehow becomes dead while our heroes are present. Sorry, no spoilers. That's the premise.

Dark comedy ensues as loyalties consume all to twisted ends. The acting is quite good and direction is directed upon a cast and film crew that know their setting. Scripting seems fairly tight and is carried forth by the basic pivot of the whores death...Although, I feel this plot device may have been developed more in the intro to the setting. But then, she was caprice in a shell.

All in all, a great romp and the dialog was well suited to the characters and situations. Only a European crew could do this the way it was done. I highly recommend this film to any fan of dark comedy, especially those with a mood for snow and ice, haha.

Snowman's Land is about a couple of hit men who are sent to a remote snow-bound house to fulfil an unspecified mission. While there they accidentally kill a crime-lord's wife and shortly after this, things begin to spiral out of control.

This German crime film is essentially character driven. There are a number of quirky personalities who populate the narrative. And some humour is certainly derived from the interactions between these people. Most of the strength of the film comes from this, as the storyline is basically quite weak. The plot-line is extremely loose, where things happen and twists in the story occur with very little overall purpose. The interaction between the femme fatale and the hit men, for example, has the potential to lead the story into interesting territory but it never unfortunately really happens. Instead, her accidental murder more or less becomes an irrelevance and the story moves on into a less interesting direction. Generally speaking, the focus of the movie is very much more on deriving humour rather than thrills from the crime story framework.

Snowman's Land is by no means a poor film; it's just one that could have been so much more. While it is funny and inventive at times, it is also a bit too unfocused for its own good too. Worth checking out if you like quirky crime comedies though.

A unique and, to me, hilarious film. The dialog is a treasure, with just the right density for the setting. The characters are well and carefully developed, for the relatively shallow people they are meant to be. I've seen it compared to "Dumb and Dumber", but that is really not a meaningful comparison, as this is a much darker and existential film. Indeed, there are a serious of tortuous situations the two main characters are run through. The film comes across a bit like a Tarantino in the woods but without the 70s baggage and with a touch of Stephen King. The film is full of great twists and turns and well paced, considering the idyllic setting. I cannot wait for another film from this writer/director. It is very nice that it was picked up by Netflix in the US. You will like it a lot or not at all.

I love the title. I think it's a nice wordplay. But when the movie starts you almost feel that it could go completely wrong. The voice over feels wrong. Then it does seem as if it does mix in with the mood of the film. A very slow moving thriller if you will. Very bad things may happen here and nobody may notice.

But that's also sort of its downfall. The fact, that it is very uneven, having great scenes followed by very weak scenes. Great performances with just completely weird dialog. Potential in the script that does not get fully explored and exposed. Ideas that seem to get thrown out the window halfway through. Still in its weirdness it stays kind of engaging. If you like weird that is.

Walter is a professional killer who messed up a job. Therefore he has to leave the country and takes up an offer from the crime boss Berger to protect his house in the remote Carpathian mountains. His old friend Mickey - not the brightest one - comes along. What first looks like a holiday with little work turns out a nightmare when Berger's girlfriend is killed by accident.

"Snowman's Land" is full of fantastic black humor in the style of the Coen Brothers. The perfect cast, music and the setting in the snowy remoteness create a very atmospheric universe. Although some narrative threads may not tie in the end - until then the surprising turns of the story are highly entertaining.