Unter Schnee

On New Year’s Eve, the different levels of time run together – the past year, one exceptional night and a look at the months to come. As such, it’s no coincidence that the change of the year forms the starting point for Ulrike Ottinger’s intricate interweaving of past and present, of mythical and mystical realms and the real world. The setting is the Japanese province of Echigo, where the snow often lies meters deep well into May and determines both the New Year’s celebrations and the local people’s religious rituals. The “snow land” is also the terrain of the fairy tale journey of Takeo and Mako, who are miraculously transformed by a fox. Upbeat and meditative, UNTER SCHNEE is a reverie and a semi-fictional gem.