This year, Netflix seems to have hit the nail on the head by releasing some really good holiday movies. Meet Me Next Christmas was a fun take on relationships brewing just before the holiday. Hot Frosty was also a great tale set during the holiday season that had elements of magical realism. The Snow Sister, the Norwegian Netflix Original, is a rather somber tale of love and loss with the upcoming holiday as the backdrop. The Snow Sister is a tale of two children who bond over the loss of their family member, and how they deal with it as Christmas approaches.
Spoilers Ahead
Why was Julian upset?
Julian is a young preteen boy who was preparing for Christmas Mass, as the holiday was only around the corner. Unlike other children, Julain wasn’t in a festive mood, and his best friend John tried to cheer him up by playing with the snow. As winter in Norway had kicked in, their town was engulfed by snow, which John loved, but Julian, for the first time, was not interested. As Julian reached home and mentioned his older sister Juni, his parents got uncomfortable and changed the topic almost immediately, to his despair. Augusta, his younger sister, was also asking about Juni and wanted to know if she would be home for Christmas. It could either be assumed from this conversation that Juni was sick and in the hospital, or that she had passed away due to a terminal illness that left Julian’s family in enormous pain, and they were not talking about her anymore.
Where did he meet Hedvig?
Julian was an excellent swimmer, and he met Hedvig Hansen right outside the pool after his swimming class. Julian was not keen on talking to her initially but Hedvig introduced herself and spoke nonstop about the upcoming holiday and tried to make Julian elated for it too. Julian was irritated with her optimism and started snapping at her from time to time as he could not understand the excitement around Christmas. Hedvig kept mentioning her love for swimming, and how she could never learn it. Julian was upset about his sister, and Hedvig was trying to help him see the joy of celebrating the vacation with family.
What did Hedvig introduce him to?
Julian was unhappy about his family’s refusal to talk about Juni whenever he mentioned her. This led to him stomping out of his home just to stay away from his parents for a bit. He ran into Hedvig again, who, despite his displeasure, invited him over to her home, which she referred to as Winter’s Nest. Julian was fascinated and surprised by the kind of decorations that Hedvig and her family had set up at her place. The whole setup made him happy, and so did his conversation with Hedvig, as it felt warm and comforting. He also came across a pair of ice skates and asked Hedvig about it, but she didn’t have much to say.
Hedvig, however, helped him appreciate nature and the people around them. She wanted him to notice that every snowflake had a different shape and design. Julian slowly began to enjoy Hedvig’s company and visited her at Winter’s Nest. From time to time she asked him about his family, but he only ever mentioned briefly about Juni. Julian also decided to treat Hedvig to a swim, which was a success, even though there was a minor scare as she began to drown in the deep end, but was saved by Julian.
Hedvig taught him to skate on the frozen river but there was again a bit of a fright as she assumed the ice was about to crack open and her friend might fall into the cold water below and possibly die. Julian was unharmed but she sensed an unpleasant déjà vu moment. Julian, on the other hand, had seen a man walking around Winter’s Nest, and he was seen inside it as well. The boy had never seen his face, and asked Hedvig about it, but she was never able to explain who it was.
Why was Julian’s mother angry?
Julian decided to go through the family albums and take out a picture of Juni to be placed in the family room so that people would remember who his sister was. This made his mother flip out because she did not want Juni’s photographs to be tarnished as they were the last memory they had of her. Julian’s mother had a meltdown, which Julian and his sister Augusta were unable to understand. As a result, Julian felt himself getting drawn towards his newfound confidante, Hedvig, who somehow understood his pain.
Who was Henrik?
Julian followed the man who was frequenting Winter’s Nest. He was able to recognize the feet that he had seen many times entering the house. On following the person, he realized it was Henrik Hansen, a local greeting card shop owner who was known for making personalized gifts as the holiday season was approaching. Julian and Henrik were getting along when the boy mentioned Winter’s Nest, which made the elderly gentleman angry, and he asked the boy to not visit the place.
Why did Julian end the friendship?
Julian went against Henrik’s advice and continued hanging out with Hedvig at her home, Winter’s Nest, and outside of it as well. For the first time he shared Juni’s story. He mentioned that Juni had suddenly gotten sick and lost a lot of weight. She eventually was moved to a local hospital for treatment but never came back home as she passed due to the terminal illness. Julian mentioned he missed his sister, and Hedvig sympathized with his situation. She also asked him to let go of her, as she was not in pain anymore, and live for the people that love him. The young boy understood the sentiment behind Hedvig’s words and began to ask questions about her family, as he hadn’t seen them in her home, or heard her talking about them. Since Hedvig mentioned her brother in past tense, he assumed she lost her sibling too. Hedvig could not bring herself to share the story of her family, which angered Julian, as he felt she did not trust him. Julian let her know they could not be best friends anymore, and soon after turning back, he saw Hedvig had disappeared, nowhere to be found.Â
What did Julian learn about Hedvig?
Julian had hoped to meet Hedvig at Winter’s Nest only to find the house to be in a dilapidated condition with everything covered in moss and snow. He was quick to deduce that the Winter’s Nest was an old home and Hedvig was a figment of his imagination all this while. Julian realized that Hedvig was a Christmas miracle sent to soothe him from the pain of losing a loved one, or a soul who had died and stayed back to achieve some closure. Since he could not find Hedvig anywhere, the only person that could give him answers was Henrik.
Julian had the idea of turning all of Juni’s photos into small artworks and handmade greeting cards so that there would be more images of her around him and his family. He approached Henrik with this idea, and the old man agreed to this. Both shared a cathartic moment when Julian mentioned Winter’s Nest and Hedvig. Henrik revealed that Hedvig was his sister, who had passed fifty years ago on Christmas Day. On that fateful day, he was supposed to be looking after her when she went skating on the frozen river. His brief distraction cost him and his family as she disappeared. The frozen river possibly broke and she felt into it. Hedvig drowned because she did not know how to swim and the water was extremely cold. Her mortal remains were found the next day with her skates on. This was the reason why Hedvig was keen on learning swimming, and why she had kept her skates around as well. Just like Julian, an elderly Henrik had also lost a sibling, and he felt guilty for not keeping an eye on Hedvig. Henrik could never move on from life and spent his life ever since painting on cards and keeping the memory of his sister alive through them.
Julian let him know about Hedvig and his ability to see her. He mentioned Hedvig talking about Henrik, and there was a chance she thought her brother was upset, which was why it was difficult for her to pass on to the other world. Julian, after his conversation with Henrik, met Hedvig at her grave. He first apologized to her for being a bad friend. Hedvig was upset, and she shared her side of the story, which was also tragic. There was a trauma bond between the two, which could be the reason why only Julian could see Hedvig. Hedvig revealed that she stayed in the town in the hope that someone would be able to see her, and after five decades, Julian was the first who had managed. She found a friend in him and began to enjoy something she hadn’t, which was life. Her life was cut short, and somehow she was able to vicariously live through Julian’s. She understood his pain and hoped to be a sliver of sunshine in his gray life.Â
What did Julian give his parents?
Julian gifted his parents handmade greeting cards and paintings made by Henrik of Juni, so that all of them could speak of her. Julian felt everyone in his family would eventually forget the pain if they did not talk about it. The kid wanted to explain how he felt after losing Juni and asked his parents to do the same so that they could finally move on. Julian was a smart kid, and that was obvious. After his conversation with Hedvig, he realized he wanted to break the ice and speak about his sister. Though he immensely missed Juni, he wanted to slowly move on and live with the people he loved the most, his parents and younger sister. Julian assumed Juni would want the same thing as well, which was why he proposed the idea to talk about how everyone felt after Juni’s passing. He also wanted everyone to remember Juni, and the cards and artworks he got made were a poignant way to do that.
Did Hedvig and Julian get their closure?
On the eve of Christmas, Julian and Hedvig met one last time. The young girl revealed she was afraid of moving on as she was not done living her life. She was happy to have seen Julian and Henrik in front of her every day, and she had hoped to keep doing that. Hedvig’s life was cut short, and she wanted to make up for it. Julian, however, let her know it was probably time to move on, as she would be happy on the other side. Over here she would be forever stuck in a loop. As Julian would grow old, he would move on, but Hedvig would remain the same, which might break her heart. This could be the reason he wanted Hedvig to move to the other world, as he was sure there would be better things waiting for her.
Julian was a sensitive kid as he was finally coming to terms with the concept of closure as he was getting there in regards to Juni. He also let Hedvig know that her brother Henrik was sorry for what had happened, and that he had wished things were different. Just like Henrik was stuck in a memory from a lifetime ago, Julian realized he wanted to move on, as Juni would have wanted that too. A scared Hedvig finally took a leap of faith, wore her skates, and moved on while skating over a frozen ring where a version of Juni also appeared. Julian and Hedvig shared their final goodbyes, and he let her know that she was his snow sister, which is the title of this film.
Julian found a little sister in Hedvig as he was grieving over the loss of Juni. His pain somehow manifested into Hedvig appearing in front of him. She came at a time when he had resigned himself to the idea of never having a holiday that was not sad, since Juni wasn’t around anymore. Hedvig’s perspective on life changed his mind. Initially he was not keen on Hedvig leaving, as he was always seeking her out whenever he was in pain. Now he realized letting her and Juni go would be the right decision. The memory would, however, stay with him. Julian witnessed a figment of Juni appearing, taking Hedvig away to the other world. Since this was set during the holidays, the elements of magical realism were expected. The Christmas miracle here is Julian letting go of his pain.
The Snow Sister ended with Julian waking up on Christmas Eve and celebrating his birthday with family. The family was finally closer than ever, and he realized he would rather be happy with them. The family was far from getting over the pain of losing a loved one, but slowly and steadily enjoying happy moments, they would realize Juni was happy for them too. Julian received a gift from his friend John, whom he hasn’t spoken to in the past few days. Julian was sad and angry about the holiday season and Juni not being there. John, being his best friend and a kid, tried to make Julian happy, but he stepped away. He noticed Julian was angry, and John was not sure how to handle it. He, however, gifted him a snowball maker, and Julian was happy. After the Midnight Mass, Julian reconciled with John by playing with a snowball, which was a callback to the boys in the first scene of the movie. Julian revealed that people have a way of coming back, especially if they loved each other. In his case it was his family and John. He was reminded of Hedvig and her innocent words of wisdom, which had a profound impact on Julian. Julian was not in pain anymore.
