[Perspectives] Heart of ice

There's a key moment in The Ice Tower when Jeanne (Clara Pacini), its 15-year-old protagonist, stumbles into a film studio looking for shelter from a winter's night. She wanders around the back of the set, bedding down against a backdrop of plain wooden boards, unaware of the opulent fairy-tale landscape on the other side. It is an apt metaphor for the way director Lucile Hadžihalilović's film presents itself to the viewer. This is a film that infers, rather than displays, its exploration of obsession, addiction, and identity.