The Snow Maiden arrives in our homes this last weekend of January courtesy of Netflix. The streaming giant continues to bet on the Spanish thriller in miniseries format as it has already done with El Innocent, Intimidad or Los favoritis de Midas.
The Snow Maiden begins in Málaga, on the day of the Three Wise Men’s Cavalcade in 2010. On that day, due to a slight distraction from her father, the 5-year-old girl Amaya Martín disappears in the crowd. The search becomes fruitless, the days pass and the girl does not appear. The police have almost no leads, and a journalist novel, Miren Rojo (Milena Smit), seems to be the person most concerned about finding the girl’s whereabouts.
Watch The Snow Maiden on Netflix
This series is undoubtedly marathon meat. It is a product that is followed with great interest at all times, which makes it addictive and makes it impossible for you to stop watching it when one of its chapters ends. It also helps that it’s only 6 episodes of 40-50 minutes. The pacing is good, not that it’s frenetic, but it never stagnates and it’s constantly giving new facts about the investigation, so you can’t let your guard down or you’ll miss crucial details. Not surprisingly, the novel it adapts was an immediate bestseller upon its publication.
Another aspect that should be highlighted is that of the interpretations, especially the interpretations. Milena Smit, as you would say in a primary school, is making adequate progress. The girl, who was working at the reception of a hotel when she was offered her first role for a film (No matarás, 2020), has not stopped improving and trying to get rid of the sambenito de choni that her appearance, both physical and verbal that had been placed on him. We could say that his first role was like a ring on his finger and many of us doubted that he could get off the record. In Mares Paral·leles (2021) we could already see that the girl could be developed in another type of roles, and I think that with this La Noia de Neu, she takes a step forward again, and charges with the leading role of form quite solvent.
Loreto Mauleón, who plays the missing girl’s mother, is a great actress. I think there are no words for those who have had the opportunity to see his previous works such as the series Pátria (2020), simply perfect, not out of tune at any time. Pleasant surprise with Aixa Villagrán, whom I had only seen in some loose segment of Los Hombres de Paco. The boys seem to me to be at a slightly lower level, with the exception of Tristán Ulloa who solves the ballot with mastery.
The narrative of this series can become a bit difficult to follow due to its time jumps. The events take place in 4 different moments, with years in between. That’s why you can also have a better experience if you watch it in marathon, because it’s easy to get a little lost on some occasions. It doesn’t rely on plot twists, even if it has some, as it introduces them before they happen and you get a sense of what’s coming next. It’s a bit of a risky bet, surprises are appreciated in a thriller, but I don’t think it detracts from the final assessment, as they do it in a very interesting way.
La Noia de Neu will not go down as one of the great series of the year, but it is round and addictive enough to be talked about for a while and to be at the top of the most watched on the world’s streaming queen platform.
Review by Jung_E (2023) [Netflix]: Robotic transhumanism