Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Slow
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Mild
- melancholic
- atmospheric
- elegiac
- quiet evening
- literary drama night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film visually beautiful and thematically ambitious, but divided over its slow, tedious pacing and limited access to the Japanese American experience.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The prosecution exploits anti-Japanese sentiment while Kazuo Miyamoto faces trial for Carl Heine's death.
Ishmael and Hatsue's clandestine youth romance continues to shape the murder investigation years after her marriage to Kazuo.
The 1950 murder trial is intercut with childhood, wartime, internment, and romantic memories.
Robert Richardson's cinematography emphasizes the Pacific Northwest island's snow, water, forests, and fog against the tense trial.
Films like Snow Falling on Cedars, and why
A Time to Kill
period courtroom drama combining interracial romance, buried memories, and racial injustice
To Kill a Mockingbird
literary historical drama about prejudice, testimony, and moral responsibility
The English Patient
melancholic romantic drama shaped by wartime trauma and divided communities
The Talented Mr. Ripley
slow-burning murder mystery with layered memories and an atmospheric visual style
Movie Details
- Director
- Scott Hicks
- Release Date
- 1999-12-22
- Runtime
- 127 min
- Rating
- 6.1 / 10 (157)
Cast
- Ethan Hawke
- Youki Kudoh
- Reeve Carney
- Anne Suzuki
- Rick Yune
- Max von Sydow
- James Rebhorn
- James Cromwell
- Richard Jenkins
- Arija Bareikis
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Snow Falling on Cedars about?
- On a remote Pacific Northwest island, a murder trial reopens a forbidden love and exposes the racial wounds left by war.
- What is Snow Falling on Cedars like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Snow Falling on Cedars as slow, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Snow Falling on Cedars violent?
- Only mildly. Ember rates the violence in Snow Falling on Cedars as mild.
- What did critics think of Snow Falling on Cedars?
- Critics broadly found the film visually beautiful and thematically ambitious, but divided over its slow, tedious pacing and limited access to the Japanese American experience.
- Which films are like Snow Falling on Cedars?
- Films with a similar feel include A Time to Kill, To Kill a Mockingbird, The English Patient, and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
- How long is Snow Falling on Cedars?
- Snow Falling on Cedars runs 127 minutes.
- Where can I watch Snow Falling on Cedars?
- In United States, Snow Falling on Cedars is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
