V E N T N O R   F I L M  S O C I E T Y​​

Marion Cotillard stars in The Ice Tower, a mysterious and mesmerising French fantasy drama that follows the journey of Jeanne, a fifteen-year-old girl who flees her restrictive orphanage in the depths of winter in search of a new life. Her path leads her to a massive, bustling film studio where a lavish production of "The Snow Queen" is being filmed.

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Entering an artificial scene of wonder, Jeanne becomes captivated by Cristina, the film’s magnetic and formidable lead actress, Cristina—a beautiful, magnetic, yet cold woman who reigns over the set like the character she portrays. Seeing a reflection of her own longing in the girl, Cristina takes Jeanne under her wing, and she quickly moves from the fringes into Cristina’s inner circle, becoming a confidante to the star.

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As Jeanne is drawn deeper into Cristina's world of artifice and glamour, the line between the film’s fairy tale and reality begins to blur. Cristina’s mentorship turns out to be a complex web of manipulation, as she uses the young girl to navigate her own insecurities and the pressures of her fading youth.

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The Ice Tower has been described as a visually stunning masterpiece and a work of hypnotic beauty. Director Lucile Hadžihalilović is famous for her "sensory" cinema. This film is stunningly shot, using 1970s film sets and snowy mountain landscapes to create a haunting, fairy-tale atmosphere that won top awards for production design.

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Atmospheric and meditative, the film moves at a glacial pace, prioritising mood, texture, and visual beauty over a fast-moving plot. Much of the story is conveyed through lingering shots, gazes, and sparse dialogue rather than action; Marion Cotillard is at her most "magnetic and menacing" as Cristina, delivering a performance that critics have called chillingly brilliant.​​

 

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The Critics Say...

“The Ice Tower is as fragile and delicate as a snowflake, as disorientating and mysterious as adolescence, and as dark as a winter’s night.” Anton Bitel, Little White Lies *****

 

“The story can feel glacial in its pacing as well as its aesthetic. But it’s a work of meticulous beauty, both in the refracted, crystalline visuals and the enchanting score by Olivier Messiaen.” Wendy Ide, Observer

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“The understated performances and coolly detached, shivery hypnotic vibes of this film won’t be for anyone looking for a story, but The Ice Tower casts a creepy spell that lingers and even deepens in the mind long after it’s over.” Ryan Lattanzio, Indiewire

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