Snowflake (2017) d. Adolfo K. Kolmerer / William James (Germany) (121 min)
Set in a near-future Berlin, the murders of two different families spark a collision course of revenge, with a supremely varied ensemble of bizarre characters bumping each other off en route to a final confrontation. However, the twist-within-a-twist is that their ongoing misadventures are apparently being conceived and manifested by a screenwriting hobbyist (Alexander Schubert) who has included himself in his own story. Now hunted by a pair of cold-hearted assassins (Erkan Acar, Reza Brojerdi) who have stumbled onto a partial draft of the script, it’s a race against time and fluttering keystrokes as to who will survive.
Any self-aware action/thriller where snappy patter marks time alongside bloody ultraviolence is inherently going to be labeled “Tarantino-esque,” but German director Kolmerer and his “guest director” James have brazenly embraced the label so fully that it becomes a full-tilt exercise in “WWQD?”, more tribute than rip-off. The shocking thing is how well this approach works. Arend Remmers’ dialogue sings off the tongues of the skilled multicultural performers, and the visual energy of the co-directors and cinematographer Konstantin Freyer is dizzying and joyful in its execution. The final product is daring, unique, original, brave, and, above all, highly entertaining for genre fans of any stripe.
NOTE: Both the DVD/BR packaging and the Artspolitation website have the running time erroneously listed at 110 min as opposed to 121 min.
Snowflake is available now on DVD and Blu-ray from Artsploitation Films (special features include an hour-long making-of documentary) and can be ordered HERE:
http://www.artsploitationfilms.com/film/snowflake/
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