Movie: Snow Angel (2023)

Release: January 20, 2023 (Canada)
Directed by: Gabriel Allard
Starring: Catherine Bérubé, Olivier Renaud, Kimberly-Sue Murray, Paul Doucet, Alexandre Nachi
Distributed by: Black Mandela

 

 

I got a screener copy of this from Black Mandela, a distribution company from New Zealand. It originally premiered in Canada back in January 2023. I do not know if my version was a different cut then the 2023 release, it stood 2025 on the file.

The movie begins with the aftermath of a devastating car accident. A man stumbles out of a wreck, a woman lies on the ground with a bottle of alcohol next to her and another car holds a couple inside with tragic results. From here the focus shifts to a woman named MJ. She lives alone in a lodge in a small mountain town, chopping wood, making coffee and quietly going about her life. But something is off.

The present-day story of MJ is cleverly inter-cut with flashbacks to a gathering in the past. At first they seem like warm memories, friends and laughter, memories that connect back to the night of the accident, giving us small clues.

One of the film’s strongest elements, comes from its well made editing, there is a scene with a spoiled milk bottle in the present that is matched with a violent outburst from the past and the transition sends chills down the spine. This back-and-forth structure builds an unsettling rhythm that makes the viewer constantly question what is remembered.

As the story progresses it becomes more and more low-key surreal. What is really going on with MJ? Is she haunted by guilt perhaps... 

Snow Angel is a slow-burning movie, quiet and emotionally heavy, yet it carries an intensity beneath the surface. Even when I thought I had figured things out, the atmosphere and editing kept me hooked all the way through. Well acted by Catherine Bérubé that play M.J, she taps into all kinds of emotions, very believable.

 

I rate this one: 8/10
Great edit and a chilling puzzle about guilt, memory and what really happened on the night of the party.

Links:
https://black-mandala.com/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7582428/