Treasures of the Snow

A beautiful movie for all ages! Treasures of the Snow explores the depth of emotions when tragedy strikes. This is the best portrayal of forgiveness I've ever seen. The movie depicts the reality of life in the Swiss Alps and the mountains seem to push the plot to its climax. Bravo! When Lucien is cast out by every part of his society, his withdrawal leads him to a recluse who offers him not only acceptance but hope for a future. Annette, whose inclination toward anger, is challenged by her desire for revenge and her sense of righteousness. This was often used in a fifth grade classroom as a discussion starter on relationships. The acting by the children is natural and sincere and draws you into their world.

Having read this book as a kid and never having seen the movie, I recently rented this with high expectations for a wholesome family film with beautiful characters and scenery.

After seeing the film, I find it rather difficult to judge. It begs a balancing of the good and the bad.

THE GOOD: The on-location scenery-- Beautiful shots of true Alpine mountains.

The acting by the children, while not perfect, is above average. The kids act as kids would, not like Hollywood fantasy "little grown ups".

The faithfulness to the story's main elements is commendable. The film also gets better near the end which helps save it somewhat.

THE BAD: The terrible, distracting, synthesized music. A score should seamlessly blend with a film and add to the mood, whatever that may be. This film would be better suited without a soundtrack at all! The music is often intrusive, conveys moods opposite those of the story, and is terribly synthetic -- not the type of music you want for a traditional religious story that takes place in the majestic beauty of the Alps!

The small families up in the Alps all seem to be living in gigantic, expansive, lodge-like cabins! This really cut the realism of the story for me and took away from the intimate setting of the circumstances.

The acting, script, and character development of the elders in the film, especially the woodcarver and the grandmother is lacking.

VERDICT: The thing that really holds this movie together is the underlying story by Patricia St. John. It is a powerful one with valuable lessons to children -- and adults as well. Without it, this film wouldn't have been watchable. With it, it holds interest despite numerous shortcomings. I give it a 7 out of 10 because of the unusual, powerful lessons it offers. Without the excellent basis from St. John, this could easily be a 4.

Miffed in a simple childhood squabble, Lucien releases his pain through that ageless game of "tease the little kid"-- only this tease, like so many others, results in serious hurt to Dani, the "little kid". What follows is a unique portrayal of healing. The viewer is constantly called to wonder just what hurt is being healed: Dani's limp? Lucien's broken spirit? an old father's family or Marie's unforgiving attitude? With an heroic climax aided by providential intervention, the cold snowy heart is melted; a believable finale plays, well orchestrated, through he lives of all involved; children and adults come to grips with the power of divine forgiveness... Good drama, excellent theme, marvelous setting and natural scenery make this one highly recommended.

I am tired of series & movies with woke themes. This has helped me discover gems like this movie. Very realistic & great acting. I loved the story.

I watched this at school when I was 9, and remember it being "amazing".

So 24 years later, I track it down with the following memories: a) it might feature the word snow in the title, b) a boy looks down a train track and says "it's your fault. It's all your fault". c) said boy accidentally kills someone, and then carves wooden animals from his guilt/shame outcast life.

I managed to track it down, and watch the last nostalgic relic from my childhood. Did it live up to my expectations?

No! Whilst watchable for nostalgia's sake, there are many disturbing things about this film. The soundtrack is completely inappropriate. The acting is dreadful - the girl can even be seen laughing in the corner of one shot whilst her grandma tells her something "important". A man scales a cliff-face to find his son twisted up and looking dead at the bottom - to which he says "Danny, Danny are you OK?" in a light-hearted voice.

Far worse though, is that any moral goodness in the religious story is completely swamped and buried under bizarre contrived acts. We're expected to believe that its good that a boy ditches school and shacks up with an old man, a stranger, who confesses to be a criminal. When the boy suggests leaving, the man persuades him to stay, being his "only friend". What kind of message is this sending out to children? Other contrivances send the story into sentimental overload, so much so that the main point of the morality seemed to unravel in favour of "feel good" factor.

I don't even know if I would show this to children now. In hindsight, I found it strange watching it as a child. You're asked to root for the guilty kid, and this made me feel a confused sense of guilt, shame and sadness as well for absolutely no reason.