Sniegs
Laila Pakalniņa
Latvia | 2012 | 34 min
Language : Latvian
Subtitle : English
Ski madness in a mountainless country. An amusing, surreal portrait of a people determined to satisfy their craving. Some enjoy leaping from roofs or being pulled behind a moped, others train for competition. A skier herself, Laila Pakalnina has made a film which, under its apparent light-heartedness, provides evidence of some admirable editing.
The highest point in Latvia is a mere 311 metres above sea level; and yet downhill skiing enjoys enormous popularity. Lacking the financial resources of the UAE, the people of Latvia have expended a great deal of energy and shown great inventiveness in order to satisfy this craving. Snow cannons are used to cover the gentle hills with artificial snow and, even when spring has put out its green shoots, small areas of the white stuff are maintained so that skiers can perform their final manoeuvres. Some practise by leaping from roofs or being pulled behind a moped, while others learn to ski or train for competition.
A skier herself, Laila Pakalnina paints a picture of a country where people will stop at nothing to satisfy their winter sports hunger. Thanks to her eye for comedy and paradox, and some admirable editing with the accent on abstraction (especially in her use of a brilliant and surprising sound track), she has produced a film rich in inventiveness and humour.
Carlo Chatrian
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