For many people, a familiar pastime in the weeks leading up to major winter holidays is gathering with family members and watching holiday movies, be they in a theater or on television. During the month of December, the Falls Free Press will return to our tradition of “The 12 Films of Christmas,” focusing on new holiday movies for the year 2024—a year that can still do with plenty of peace and joy. We will review each film, whether naughty or nice, and let you know where to watch.
While the winter holidays are commonly referred to as “the happiest season of all,” it is also known as one of the most depressing times of the year for many people. In addition to financial stress and obligatory pressures, some face loneliness and trying to cope with loss in the family. Despite being labeled as a children’s film, Norwegian import film The Snow Sister takes a look at such loss during Christmas Time and how children and adults deal with their feelings differently.
Merely months after the Julian’s older sister Juni passes away in the hospital, each family member feels the pressure to face the coming days. Although the youngest Augusta is oblivious to the death and pain the others comprehend, their parents appear to spend most of their time away from the home to keep from remembering their daughter. For Julian (played by Mudit Gupta), days are spent sitting by Juni’s gravesite and swimming at the local pool. His lack of focus goes so far that even his best friend has trouble talking to him, usually falling back on conversations about the weather.
When Julian is surprised by a mysterious girl at the pool, Hedwig (Celina Meyer Hovland), his outlook begins to change. Hedwig is an extremely chatty, demonstrative child who loves Christmas, going so far as to decorate her entire gothic home, room-to-room. The strange thing about her though is that she doesn’t appear to have any family around and refuses to talk about them. Her presence helps Julian finally open up about his sadness as they build a snowman, teach Julian to skate, and even teach Hedwig to swim.
A wonderful story about loss and reaching out to loved ones when we face depression, I found The Snow Sister a sad, yet comforting film. Unfortunately, the twist of the story was easy to guess early on, long before there was a question about Hedwig’s existence and the mysterious man who wanders near her home. Nonetheless, this movie focuses on loss and grieving how it should be tackled, by understanding our feelings and how to cope–very different from Dear Santa, which chooses to completely ignore Liam’s grief over his baby brother, while his parents’ constant arguing rarely mentions the true reason for frustration.
Despite its depressing storyline, The Snow Sister is a decent film to watch with the whole family, introducing Hedwig’s lust for life and the holiday as a way to escape seasonal depression.
The Snow Sister is available to stream on Netflix.
