Norwegian director Sara Johnson's Vinterkyss (translated into Kissed By Winter) is the story of a woman, Victoria, who loses her son and then moves to a small town in Norway in an attempt to distance herself from her situation. The themes of guilt and responsibility play a central role in this film, with Victoria, who is a doctor, dealing with the guilt of not having recognized the symptoms of leukemia in her own child. The other protagonist Kai also has to deal with this issue when he unwittingly kills a possibly suicidal man with his snow plough. The ensuing investigation into this man's death kept me unsure whether to view this as a drama or a murder mystery up until the very end. That Vinterkyss never fully settles into a comfortable genre made it impossible to simply react in a standard way to a genre, thus keeping the film fresh. The different viewpoints from which the film can be viewed also makes this film good for multiple viewings; for example Victoria's romantic relationship with Kai, which is presented as a natural and healing connection between the two, could also be looked at from the abandoned husband's point of view, or from the point of view of the townspeople, making it an entirely different film each time.
It is very difficult not to like both main characters, seeing as the portrayal of both Victoria by Annika Hallin and Kai by Kristoffer Joner is done with amazing charm and warmth. The sincere love of Kai for Victoria and Victoria's inability to resist such a sweet man even in her difficult circumstances endears them to the viewer and makes you root for them, forgetting that Victoria's home situation is not something she can leave behind and still needs to deal with.
The strong difference in the warmly-coloured shots of Stockholm which are shown as flashbacks and of the bleaker-toned events in Norway somehow manages only to highlight the positive aspects of each opposite; the beautiful Norwegian winter landscape is set off perfectly by the earth tones of urban Stockholm. Contrary to what is expected of Norwegian nature visuals, the shots in Vinterkyss are kept very shallow; the horizon is never clearly visible which creates a hemmed in feeling. This claustrophobia could be seen as a metaphor for Victoria's state of mind and her location. Victoria herself is continually shot noticeably close to her background and distant from the viewer, supporting Victoria's feeling of being cornered in a situation with the only solution being to return home and deal with her grief, a solution which she resists for as long as possible.
Finally, even though this film was a thoughtful and considerate emotional drama, what really made me love it were the occasional moments of down-to-earth humor. This was mainly portrayed by the two peeping little boys who see everything and know everything first, but charmingly seem to keep everyones secrets for them. Vinterkyss similarly bares everything in Victoria's grief process, but still retains its simple charm and sympathizes the viewer to the very human and imperfect experience of Victoria.
It is very difficult not to like both main characters, seeing as the portrayal of both Victoria by Annika Hallin and Kai by Kristoffer Joner is done with amazing charm and warmth. The sincere love of Kai for Victoria and Victoria's inability to resist such a sweet man even in her difficult circumstances endears them to the viewer and makes you root for them, forgetting that Victoria's home situation is not something she can leave behind and still needs to deal with.
The strong difference in the warmly-coloured shots of Stockholm which are shown as flashbacks and of the bleaker-toned events in Norway somehow manages only to highlight the positive aspects of each opposite; the beautiful Norwegian winter landscape is set off perfectly by the earth tones of urban Stockholm. Contrary to what is expected of Norwegian nature visuals, the shots in Vinterkyss are kept very shallow; the horizon is never clearly visible which creates a hemmed in feeling. This claustrophobia could be seen as a metaphor for Victoria's state of mind and her location. Victoria herself is continually shot noticeably close to her background and distant from the viewer, supporting Victoria's feeling of being cornered in a situation with the only solution being to return home and deal with her grief, a solution which she resists for as long as possible.
Finally, even though this film was a thoughtful and considerate emotional drama, what really made me love it were the occasional moments of down-to-earth humor. This was mainly portrayed by the two peeping little boys who see everything and know everything first, but charmingly seem to keep everyones secrets for them. Vinterkyss similarly bares everything in Victoria's grief process, but still retains its simple charm and sympathizes the viewer to the very human and imperfect experience of Victoria.