It should send a chill down your spine.
When you see “The Ice Tower,” and acknowledge that it’s inspired by “The Snow Queen,” don’t expect Idina Menzel to show up. Expect a 1970s story about an orphaned teenager who tells one of her much younger foster siblings the Hans Christian Anderson story and then stumbling on the set of the film version with Marion Cotillard playing the title queen.
I knew this would be a movie within a movie and that it might share some passion for the HCA story, but I wasn’t completely sure what to expect. My guess was it might have something to do with chemistry and personalities. And I might be right.
As you watch “The Ice Tower,” you should also expect some snowy mountains with dark blue lighting, silence, and then some narrations about the Snow Queen’s castle and homeland. Next, see a model set that looks like it belongs in a Wes Anderson movie. And then we get the snow and ice with white lighting. It’s all within the tone and ambiance of “The Ice Tower.” And production values of the fake movie set.
The orphan teenager is Jeanne (Clara Pacini), who looks like she could be related to Amelie with her hair and disposition, but her lack of smile might prove otherwise. She leaves her foster home and sneaks into a building, and wakes up to a radiant figure wearing a white dress and crown, and snow trickling down her. Could it really be the Snow Queen? Or could it be the actress Cristina van den Berg? There’s that Cotillard. She’s playing the actress in the movie within the movie.
And the foster sibling is Rose (Cassandre Louis Urbain), who misses her, but is warmed up when Jeanne tells her she’s about to meet the Snow Queen and that she’ll bring her something from her castle. Remember that’s a movie set. She poses as an extra named Bianca, sleeps in the studio, and takes a crystal from the Snow Queen’s dress to give to Rose.
Jeanne sees the actress quite demanding, but also attractive and mysterious. She even tries to tell her she just turned 20, but Cristina still doesn’t buy it. But she still finds the girl to be her lucky charm and feels something in her, too. Or maybe the girl could really be under her spell. You decide.
Expect some very dark scenes, ones when you can barely see anything and therefore, you begin to lose your interest in the film. But the darkness doesn’t last very long, and we’re able to see “The Ice Tower” through the girl’s perspective, whether she’s in a fantasy or reality. Maybe she can be in both, and it works as a visual wonder.
Given that this is a French film, I was thinking back to the lesbian drama “Blue is the Warmest Color,” which sets the themes tremendously. “The Ice Tower” is on a different and darker level that questions on the personalities between the two potential lovers. That is if we can call them lovers. But regardless, Cotillard and Pacini are both excellent in their roles, and co-writer/director Lucile Hadzihalilovic and co-writer Geoff Cox guide them with the right consistencies. I’m seeing it through a somber sense when there’s less talking and more looking. I’m not sure what to make out of it, but the very nature of the film, and from my standpoint, it’s quite chilling.
P.S. Gaspar Noe plays the director of “The Ice Queen.” So keep your eyes peeled.
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