ManiakJiggy This is How Movies Should Be Made

Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Sammy-Jo Cervantes There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de) "Snowman's Land" is the second film written and directed by Tomasz Thomsen and came out almost 10 years after his first work "Stiller Sturm". The main character is played by Jürgen Rißmann and while I was occasionally not sure if he was boring or quietly convincing, as a whole, I liked his performance. It was a mix of the two characters mentioned in the title of my review. He also had nice physical presence. There were quite a few indicators of what is going to happen. For example when his young colleague (reminded me a bit of Pinkman in "Breaking Bad") tells he is unbreakable at one point, it was fairly obvious he is not gonna survive this movie. Same goes for the character played by Kanischtscheff. When he keeps rambling about how this is all gonna be his I felt that he will be killed off at some point as well.I personally enjoyed the first 30-45 minutes of this film the most. There is not really a lot happening, but the tension between the two contract killers and the woman is pretty interesting. When Berger enters the picture, it gets slightly worse, although I liked the idea that they wanted to try to kill him. However, he was faster. When they find the girl and Berger suspects somebody else, it all gets a bit weak and the best moments of the film had already passed. Especially that bald muscular guy all of a sudden knocking out Berger was so out of nowhere, certainly one plot twist too many. I'm not too big on the narrator either. The ending was a bit strange as Berger and the bald guy suddenly disappear and Rißmann's character actually manages to get into safety. It would have made sense if they, according to the title, would only have displayed what happened in the snowy forest area, but early on and also the final scene took place somewhere entirely different. Maybe too much of a forced happy ending for my taste.This film works best with its dark humor. The dramatic sequences were not that great mostly and it was not an outstanding thriller either, but that whole tongue-in-cheek approach is well done. That intro was pretty entertaining with the botched shooting. All in all, I recommend watching it. I just wish the second half of the film could have been half as superb as the first.

gsjaeger-968-581723 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.

will mccarthy I saw 'Snowman's Land' at La Mostra Valencia film festival in 2010 and was struck by the black humour of the film, the atmospheric imagery, the quirky soundtrack and the tight plotting. Great acting by the anti-hero too! The film is mostly set in an mysterious and dangerous location (a forest in winter) hundreds of miles east of Germany. This isolated and haunted place creates an on-going tension, enhances the plot and emphasizes the struggle of the characters who have to use their wits to survive each day. A memorable, dark and entertaining film. I look forward to seeing more from this director in the future.Will McCarthy

kosmasp 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.