A well-done film from Norway, shot in many flashbacks and side-stories. It follows a bit on how many Norwegian films are made, with the slow pacing against the crisply cold northern Scandinavian snow. The tale concerns Victoria, a female doctor in a small country town in Norway. She is just fitting in, as a boy's body is found in the snow. An autopsy is called to find if the body was involved in foul play. The story of the dead boy - a Muslim refuge immigrant - falls in with a side storyline of Victoria. Victoria is continuously calls to her estranged husbands' home in Sweden to see how her potentially ill son is doing. Along the story path, different twists form as blame for the snow-found boy's death seems to point in different directions. Ultimately, along with the mystery, the film really tells several moral tales, primarily about parenting. The physician mother who pays little attention to her own son, a dead boy's father coming to terms with his own culture's attitudes, and a suspect who is a seemingly good father, but yet has his own intentions and well-being in mind first. The cultural differences of an American audience with life in Norway might seem stark by comparison, but is well portrayed. The film itself, in how the story is told, is a bit confusing at times, but does tie in neatly at the end. Some viewers might not be able to follow all the side-flashes and flashbacks, which could slow the ending's meaning, but overall, this is a film well worth viewing. In addition, "Wynterkiss" featured a Leonard Cohen penned song, "Hallelujah", hauntingly performed by the late Jeff Buckley.
Review of Vinterkyss
