The first snow of the year has arrived, and on November 30, 1966, the Ranza children, who were not caught unprepared, play with a sled in their backyard in Varese. But the star of this Super8 film (and of many winter family films) is the snowman, an unfailing anthropomorphic figure. Just gather some snow and compact it, shape it into a vaguely human form, use more or less improvised materials for the facial features, and you're done. In so many of the Ranza's films we have seen that play is something to be taken seriously, and the puppet of their creation proves it, too. It is an imposing puppet, reminiscent of pop art. The eyes and mouth are stylized and colorful shapes, the nose is a plastic mushroom, he holds a cigar in his mouth and carries a broom at his side. The snow bowler he holds on his head is somewhat reminiscent of Oliver Hardy, the legendary Hardy, who along with his partner Laurel has not gone out of fashion. This is to say that in the snowman's features and decorations we find both ancient and contemporary elements. But what gender are snowmen, are they like angels not possessing unp? Surely they are ephemeral beings that tend toward fluidity, created on nothingness and destined to melt when some warmth returns. Only a few solid elements will remain on the ground.