Smilla's Sense of Snow

This week's most rewarding drama pick is Smilla's Sense of Snow. It says what it needs to say in one sitting, no filler. A 6/10 rating says what the writing already makes obvious: this one works. Julia Ormond leads a cast that never overplays its hand. There is no real reason to keep putting it off.

Whatever else is competing for your attention this week, Smilla's Sense of Snow is worth clearing space for. Smilla's Sense of Snow trusts its audience to sit with discomfort instead of resolving it too quickly. Smilla Jaspersen attempts to understand the death of a small boy who falls from the roof of her apartment building. Suspecting wrongdoing, Smilla uncovers a trail of clues leading towards a secretive corporation that has made several mysterious expeditions to Greenland. The performances from Julia Ormond and Gabriel Byrne give it more weight than the premise alone would suggest. Smilla's Sense of Snow came out in 1997. Smilla's Sense of Snow resists tidy resolutions in a way that respects how messy real consequences actually are. It delivers reliably on what it promises, which is more than most of its competition manages.

Viewers drawn to character-driven storytelling will find plenty to sit with in Smilla's Sense of Snow. If you have run out of similar titles to watch, this is a strong next pick. Best experienced as a single, sustained watch from start to finish. Julia Ormond's work here is the kind that gets referenced in career retrospectives. It makes everything else feel thin by comparison.

Smilla's Sense of Snow was released in 1997, directed by Bille August. The full 121-minute film is available to watch now. Find exactly where it's streaming below, and TV Butler Pro makes it effortless to track your progress as you go. Just search the name, and Butler finds it instantly, tells you which service has it, and remembers exactly where you left off.