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Snowflake (Artsploitation Films) Blu-ray Review
Released by: Artsploitation Films
Released on: December 28th, 2018.
Director: Adolfo J. Kolmerer, William James
Cast: Reza Brojerdi, Erkan Acar, Alexander WolfXenia Assenza, David Masterson, Xenia Assenza, David Gant
Year: 2017
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Snowflake - Movie Review:
Adolfo J. Kolmerer and William James's 2017 feature Snowflake (or Schneeflí¶ckchen in its native tongue) is set in the Berlin of the not too distant future. Time has not been kind to the city. The European Union has collapsed and Berlin is a mess. Anarchy has erupted, the government has lost control of the population and those that remain do what they can to carry on as 'normal' when possible. It isn't quite a post-apocalyptic landscape, but it's pretty damn grim.
Eliana (Xenia Assenza) lives in this world. She's recently lost her parents but has teamed up with Carson (David Masterson), her family's bodyguard, to get revenge. Carson has a connection with Caleb (David Gant), who just so happens to be the right man for the job. He, in turn, points Eliana to a rogue's gallery of murderers for hire who would only be too happy to exact the revenge she wants on her behalf. And then there's the matter of two serial killers, Tan (Erkan Acar) and Javid (Reza Brojerdi).
We'll leave it at that.
Snowflake might seem, at first, to be overly long with a running time of just over two hours, but stick with it. It's an interesting, unique and creative piece of filmmaking. The first half of the picture can be a little tough to keep track of, the story isn't linear at all, but the filmmakers do a pretty solid job of tying everything together in the last half, and it's here that the film proves to be as rewarding as it is. It's a clever film, and the more meta aspects of the production (which are undeniably part of its story structure) never come across as gimmicky but rather an integral part of the experience.
Performances are solid across the board. Xenia Assenza is one to watch. She's got the looks but more importantly she's got the talent to go with it. Her performance here is strong. David Masterson and David Grant are also both very good in their supporting roles, while Erkan Acar and Reza Brojerdi manage to steal a few of the scenes that they're involved with.
Production values are fine. The movie was, for the most part, shot on DSLR equipment but the directors and their crew have done an impressive job of creating an appropriately polished looking production. The cinematography is not only professional looking but quite creative in spots and the movie features some genuinely striking imagery and great use of color.
It would be easy to let this one slip under your radar - that would be a mistake.
Snowflake - Blu-ray Review:
Snowflake comes to Blu-ray from Artsploitation Films in a 2.35.1 widescreen transfer in AVC encoded 1080p high definition on a 25GB disc in a very nice presentation. Shot digitally, obviously there are no problems with any grain or print damage related issues. Detail is quite strong throughout and color reproduction is quite nice. Black levels are solid and compression artifacts aren't ever a problem, which is quite surprising given the film's length and the fact that it's on a 25GB disc.
The film is given Dolby Digital tracks in 2.0 Stereo and 5.1 Surround Sound with optional subtitles offered in English only. There is, sadly, no lossless option offered up. Still, the 5.1 mix sounds pretty solid. There's good use of the rear channels and some interesting directional effects scattered throughout the movie. The levels are well balanced, the score sounds good and the dialogue is clean. If this doesn't take full advantage of what the format can provide, it still sounds solid.
The main extra on the disc is a fifty-nine-minute 'making of' featurette that is basically an assemblage of fly-on-the-wall style footage captured over the two years that it took to get the film completed. We see quite a few of the picture's key scenes being shot but we also see the cast and crew relaxing and hanging out together. It's reasonably interesting.
Aside from that we get a trailer for the feature, menus and chapter selection.
Snowflake - The Final Word:
Snowflake is a good movie. It's smart, well-made and at times genuinely creepy. Artsploitation Films does right by the picture and gives it a solid Blu-ray release. Recommended.
Click on the images below for full sized Snowflake screen caps!
