The Ice Tower (Special Edition)

 

WINNER – SILVER BEAR – BERLIN INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL WINNER – BEST FILM – NEUCHÂTEL INTERNATIONAL FANTASTIC FILM FESTIVAL

Fifteen-year-old Jeanne runs away from her foster home in the depths of winter. Using a stolen identity, she manages to become an extra on a film adaptation of The Snow Queen, the H. C. Andersen fairy tale that has obsessed her since childhood. That same sense of obsession returns when Jeanne first sees the film’s star, Cristina, an actress as mysterious and seductive as the queen she portrays. Since her debut with Innocence (2004), Lucile Hadžihalilović has explored the mysterious and treacherous territory between childhood and adulthood. With exquisite, veiled cinematography by Jonathan Ricquebourg, these themes find their fullest expression in her fourth feature, The Ice Tower.

Marion Cotillard is more imposing and statuesque than ever, while Clara Pacini delivers an impressive breakthrough performance. The year 2025 marks the 220th anniversary of H. C. Andersen’s birth. There is no better way to continue celebrating Denmark’s great storyteller than by watching this bold reinterpretation of what is now his best-known work. With nods to such cinematic greats as Georges Méliès, Jean Cocteau, Black Narcissus and Mulholland Drive, The Ice Tower is a cinematic dream in the truest sense.

BLU-RAY BONUS FEATURES

Audio Commentary with Lucile Hadžihalilović (director), Julia Irribarria (production designer), Jonathan Ricquebourg (cinematographer) and Ken Yasumoto (supervising sound editor), with English and Swedish subtitles

Q&A with Lucile Hadžihalilović at the 2026 Göteborg Film Festival (23 min, with English and Swedish subtitles)

De Natura, a short film by Lucile Hadžihalilović (2018, 6 min)

Original Theatrical Trailer

Lucile Hadžihalilović Trailer Show

 

 

“A biting atmosphere. Cotillard is unforgettable” – Aftonbladet

“An all-encompassing cinematic experience that sparks with magic” – Svenska Dagbladet

“A world that feels entirely its own, without a clear-cut moral, but with the power to transcend time and space.” – Jon Asp, Svenska Dagbladet

“A feast for the eyes” – Dagens Arena

“Beautiful, dark and cold, like a star-studded winter night.” – Sydsvenskan

“Boundaries dissolve in a strange blend of metafilm, realism and fantasy.” – Fredrik Sahlin, Dagens Nyheter

★★★★★ “Inspired by the crystalline power of silent cinema. Captivating and infused with wonder” – La Septième Obsession

★★★★★ “Dizzyingly grand and glittering” – Le Monde

★★★★★ “A hypnotic melodrama in which sensuality and unease teeter on the brink of catastrophe” – The Guardian

4/4 “Sparkles like crystal and may be Hadžihalilović’s most accessible film yet” – Ebert.com

★★★★ “A captivating reinterpretation of Andersen’s fairy tale” – 20 Minutes

★★★★ “A surreal and unique vision” – L’Humanité