This is a beautiful, atmospheric film with a complex mystery and romance woven expertly into the first rate cinematography. Easily one of my favourite films. Watch in complete darkness to really appreciate the lighting of the film, especially the candle lit court room scene. You could stop the film at any point in any scene and you would find it perfectly framed. The performances of each actor is superb, never over acted. The film is a quiet, perfect, work of art. I was surprised at it's low rating on IMDb and can only assume those low rating were divvied up by those who were hoping for a bit less of a cerebral masterpiece and more of a simplistic crash-n-bash affaire. If your a relatively clever person who appreciates well crafted film, watch this.

It is a pity that one of the very few Hollywood films that deal with the plight of Japanese- Americans during WWII should, though based on a fairly good novel, descend to such extraordinary lengths to "prove" that the incarceration of innocent people is a national disgrace. You would think that an intelligent audience might be trusted to know this without having it explained to death, and that it would need none of the self-indulgent, frequently manipulative "pathos" that mars this extremely kitschy film. Some of it is good. Much of it is so mistrustful of its audience that nothing--not even the deportation of the Japanese to concentration camps--can be depicted without a heavy-handed, editorializing musical score that owes more to Karl Orff than it contributes to the dramatic situation. Some of the performances, particularly that of Sam Sheperd, are excellent. The direction, the editing, are embarrassingly derivative. Characters are either impossibly noble and likable or so unambiguously dreadful that you wonder their neighbors allowed them to go on living. There is no middle ground. Shades of gray, absent from the director's mind, are nowhere to be found in his film. Ultimately there is nothing here but a second-rate film director exhibiting his unwillingness to let the material speak for itself. The movie should be awarded a prize for the most intrusively manipulative musical score in recent film history.

1st watched 8/26/2006 - 6 out of 10(Dir-Scott Hicks): Overly atmospheric but effective drama about a trial surrounding the death of a local fisherman in a post WWII Japanese-racist local town. The man on trial for the possible murder of this local man happens to be of Japanese descent. The story is shown in the eyes of a local reporter played by Ethan Hawke who's past reveals a relationship with the defendant's wife which is used as an extra storyline to explore the racism against Japanese descendants in the United States in the early 50's shortly after World War II ends. The internment camps that the Japanese were forced into by the Americans is explored for the first time in the movies here as well. This blackmark on American history is finally revealed and it is evident that this is part of the purpose of the filmmakers in this movie that could have been a simple trial-based murder mystery. It is obvious though that director Scott Hicks wanted to make this as complex as possible which lends to some of it's flaws. That complexity is explored visually for the most part with very little dialogue which is confusing to follow at times. Also, throw in a story of closure needed between Hawke's character and his former fling and you've got what could be a real mess. Instead, Hicks is able to keep our interest despite all of this and overall he made a pretty good movie.

Snow Falling... provides a legendary combination of acting, cinematography, story line, dialogue and history. One has the sense that the actors knew they were memorializing a portion of WWII and therefore provided an extraordinary level of craftsmanship.Love, war, courtroom drama, history and the silence of the sea combine to rivet your attention to the screen.Max Von Sydow, James Rebhorn and James Cromwell absorb the courtroom roles and give great performances. The Cinematographer won several awards for his craftsmanship.Treat yourself to this wonderful film.