The Snow Sister is the brand new addition to the bevy of Christmas movies that are releasing back-to-back on Netflix. The more, the merrier is what Christmas is all about. This time Norwegian Netflix comes out with a tale of losing a loved one and dealing with the aftermath with the holiday season just around the corner.
The Snow Sister is the story of a young boy who is dealing with the death of his sibling and how it has deeply affected his family. As a result, there are many characters in his life that care for him. However, matters in his family were not okay, and that made the crux of the film.
Julian
Mudit Gupta, a child actor, portrays the role of Julian, who is dealing with the trauma of losing his older sister to a terminal illness earlier that year. He has been upset, and the situation at his home is also tense since no one has spoken about Juni, his deceased sibling, ever since the tragedy struck them.
Julian cannot bring himself to communicate with anyone, including his best friend John, who tried to make him feel better. Julian was seen going to his sister’s grave repeatedly, as he was unable to communicate his grief with anyone. He runs into Hedvig, who suddenly enters his life out of nowhere. She is of his age and begins by talking to him about random things initially. At the beginning, Julian is not okay with Hedvig always being around him and being overly positive about life and Christmas. Soon they become close friends as she welcomes him into her beautifully decorated house, which projects the fact that she and her family are happy. Julian opens up to her and finds himself feeling happy whenever he hangs out with Hedvig. Julian is willing to believe Hedvig and her family are for real and finds himself wanting to be with her until reality hits him once again.
Hedvig
Celina Meyer Hovland, another child actor, portrays the role of Hedvig. She is a young girl who is of Julian’s age and runs into him during his swimming practice. While Julian is an ace swimmer at his age, Hedvig is fascinated by how he got so good. Hedvig claims she could not learn swimming and could never reason out why that was. Hedvig is always seen in a red dress, and she has a home called ‘Winter’s Nest’ that she has decorated with many festoons and sparkles that add to the mood of the festival.
Hedvig senses Julian is upset and gets him excited for the upcoming holiday by offering him home-cooked food and hot cocoa in the hope he would talk about what has been bothering him. Hedvig is keen to learn swimming, and Julian gives her a lesson. Apart from all of this, she is fascinated by life and remains happy. Julian only sees her in the house, and for every question about her family, Hedvig has an excuse and defers the topic. Hedvig has someone visit her at her home at one point, but she is unwilling to share anything about him with Julian, which makes him angry. Hedvig’s life seems too good to be true, and there is a story behind it.
Henrik
Jan Saelid, the popular Norwegian actor, portrays the role of Henrik, a local business owner who makes and sells hand-painted greeting cards. His business is in full swing with the holidays around the corner. He has the physical stature of Santa Claus, who brings joy and happiness. Julian comes to know of a man visiting Winter’s Nest, whom Hedvig is unwilling to talk about. Soon Julian learns the man visiting happens to be Henrik, who talks about his past. He got himself into this business at a young age. He also gets angry at Julian when he mentions Winter’s Nest and Hedvig. The young boy feels Henrik has a connection to the house he frequently visits and soon he will find out more about it.
John
Ole Steinkjer Øyen is yet another child actor, and he portrays the role of John, Julian’s best friend from school. He is one of the few who is aware of the tragedy that struck Julian’s home earlier that summer. John tries to be playful with Julian to distract him, but he quickly understands his best friend is not in the mood to be jolly with Christmas around the corner. John stays away from Julian for a while as he knows his best friend needs time to process what he is going through. The only conversation they have is about the weather, which angers Julian and makes him wonder if John is also drifting away. John eventually comes around, which proves that their bond is here to stay and they will remain friends in the long run.
Julian’s Mother and Father
Julian’s mother, portrayed by Sampda Sharma, and father, played by Gunnar Eiriksson, are a couple who are grappling with the death of their older daughter, Juni. As a family, they have not dealt with the passing that well because, as parents, they refuse to talk about Juni. Julian finds it frustrating as he feels his mother and father have forgotten about her. Turns out that is not true. Julian’s mother is still sensitive about speaking about Juni and has angry outbursts at Julian. It is the father who is trying to not escalate the matter in the family as he tries to calm his wife and son at the same time. The father is also trying to deal with the death, but the family as one is unable to speak or communicate on how to move forward.
