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despite the falling snow movie review

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When a film’s basic strategy is to cut between the past and the present, it should create ripples of anticipatory tension. It is a compelling story and kept my interest throughout. A then-and-now romantic drama tracing all broken hearts back to Cold War-era duplicity, Shamim Sarif's Despite the Falling Snow finds a Russian-American artist going back to the old country in search of news about an aunt she never knew. Terms of Use | Despite the Falling Snow. The existing Open Comments threads will continue to exist for those who do not subscribe to Independent Premium. Check box if your review contains spoilers, Moscow, 1959: Katya (Rebecca Ferguson) is young, beautiful – and a spy for the Americans. With the action jumping backwards and forwards in time, the plot is not always easy to follow, and a gratuitous lesbian romance does little to disguise the fact that the underlying story has run badly out of steam long before the end. By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy There's great potential here, but the execution is far too clunky. For all its invocations of Russian history, this is a glorified telenovela at heart. Are you sure you want to mark this comment as inappropriate? Shamim Sarif. Moscow, 1959: Katya (Rebecca Ferguson) is young, beautiful – and a spy for the Americans. By Owen Gleiberman Nevertheless, Lauren is insistent about going to Russia to finally find out what happened to Katya, the love of her uncle’s life and his one regret in life. 3:58 PM PDT 3/31/2017 In cold war America, ambitious young Russian diplomat Sacha (Sam Reid) has arrived with a trade delegation, planning to defect – but will his beautiful young wife Katya (Rebecca Ferguson) be able to escape with him? This is no James Bond spy film. The story focuses on spying in the time of the USSR with the KGB killing anyone associated with spies. Katya is eventually won over, of course, but the film fails to generate much heat as she wrestles with her conscience, then eventually reveals her secret to Alex and convinces him to defect. Alas, that doesn't work either. Ferguson says about her two roles, “Both Katya and Lauren are strong, independent women. At least, Criminal begins brightly enough with a chase sequence in which Ryan Reynolds (seen all too briefly) careers round London, pursued by a Spanish anarchist and his associates. review. Greenaway doesn’t try to mimic him but instead throws in some astonishingly elaborate travelling shots, in which there is no cutting at all. Despite The Falling Snow (12A), Shamim Sarif, 91 mins, starring: Rebecca Ferguson, Antje Traue, Charles Dance, Anthony Head, Amy Nuttall - ** Rebecca Ferguson stars as … As the story jumps back and forth between the past and the present, viewers see the relationships growing and the blanks get filled in, so by the end of the film all is revealed. Get a list of the best movie and TV titles recently added (and coming... Music title data, credits, and images provided by, Movie title data, credits, and poster art provided by. So many shivery night-time clinches in Moscow fill Despite the Falling Snow's modest runtime, you wonder what proportion of the budget went on that ever-whirring snow machine. Director-screenwriter: Shamim Sarif I just caution the audience to remember that the film does seamlessly jump from the past to the present and vice versa, so pay attention to the age of the characters and the hair and wardrobe. Film Review: ‘Despite the Falling Snow’ A Cold War romantic espionage thriller, rooted in the suddenly sexy subject of Russia, keeps tripping over its own ineptitude. Another problem was the use of CGI in the film, like the ropey snow and the over-reliance for the green screen that made the streets of Moscow and those scenes along the Moskva River look unconvincing. Director of photography: David Johnson Distributor: CARU Pictures Sarif’s very mawkish and novelettish melodrama, based on her own book, stars Rebecca Ferguson in a dual role. It is a look at two people who had different ideas about their country yet in the end they were the same. © 2020 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. Get the freshest reviews, news, and more delivered right to your inbox! It features laborious acting and directing, and a screenplay whose revelations are uninteresting, even were they not guessable long in advance. This film pulled me in from the beginning when a top Soviet official, Alexander (Sam Reid) defects to the U.S.A. while on a diplomatic mission, leaving behind his beloved wife Katya (Rebecca Ferguson) who was supposed to join him in America. EMAIL ME. The movie jumps back and forth between the past and the present. It’s an intriguing performance which captures its subject’s humour, prurience and his visionary qualities. If nothing else, Despite The Falling Snow proves what we already knew about Ferguson from Rogue Nation – she’s a bona fide movie star. Francine Brokaw has been covering all aspects of the entertainment industry for over 20 years. Find a complete guide to TV and movie titles heading to Blu-ray and DVD... We rank the 25 best-reviewed horror films of the 2010s. This hackneyed endeavour struggles to free itself from the shackles of the genre tropes and expectations, never quite doing justice to the originality of the narrative at hand. and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and Fandango. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. It's a taut and talky film, nicely played by all concerned. But she also truly loves Alexander and she’s prepared to sacrifice everything to save him.”, About her other character, the actress says, “Lauren has grown up with the mystery surrounding the loss of her aunt, so for her it’s an inherited grief. The story focuses on spying in the time of the USSR with the KGB killing anyone associated with spies. | Cookie Settings. Production company: Enlightenment Productions Eisenstein was the master of montage. It’s rated PG-13 for some sexuality and violence. It’s rated PG-13 for some sexuality and violence. You can also choose to be emailed when someone replies to your comment. Borat Subsequent Moviefilm: Delivery of Prodigious Bribe to American Regime for Make Benefit Once Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan. In Cold War Moscow, a female spy steals secrets from an idealistic politician - … Enjoyment. © 2020 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. In the present, Alexander (Charles Dance) is a successful man who has taken care of his niece Lauren (also played by Rebecca Ferguson). Casting directors: Kelly Valentine Hendry, Victor Jenkins, Lina Todd. Meanwhile, in the early 1990s scenes, she is Katja’s niece, a beautiful young American artist who heads to Russia to find what happened to her old aunt. But Despite the Falling Snow is one of those movies in which the cross-cutting keeps destroying all mood and momentum — it feels more like channel-surfing. Known for earlier films and novels that focus on lesbian relationships, Sarif squeezes a brief one in here: a present-day fling between Lauren and Marina (Antje Traue), a journalist who pretends to be a fan of Lauren's art but actually shares an interest in Alex and Katya's story. Anticipation. Following on from Rebecca Ferguson’s last role as the sassy spy alongside Ethan Hunt, this should be mission possible. THR Staff Sitemap | All rights reserved. Gary Oldman is in Commissioner Gordon mode as a London-based CIA boss. Katya never joined him and the story of what happened between these two lovers plays out throughout the film. Her uncle Alex (Game of Thrones' Charles Dance, underused here), who defected as a young man, discourages her, but Lauren has heard too much about Katya, the aunt who never made it out of Russia, not to take the opportunity to explore her roots. Executive producers: Ben White, Lisa Tchenguiz, Katherine Priestley Due to the sheer scale of this comment community, we are not able to give each post the same level of attention, but we have preserved this area in the interests of open debate. She wants to know what happened to Katya because everyone sees them as being very similar and she feels her aunt is still in some way living through her.” She adds, “Her family is Russian and she wants to know about her roots.”. Her choice between love and duty leads to a nail-biting conclusion that Alexander can only unravel decades later in 1990s. All rights reserved. The Hollywood Reporter, LLC is a subsidiary of Prometheus Global Media, LLC. and the Terms and Policies, Sadly, this isn’t a patch on director Vromen’s excellent earlier thriller, The Iceman. That offers a parallel narrative of hidden motives, but Snow does little with the comparison. Trailer), Notable Video Game Releases: New and Upcoming. Her choice between love and duty leads to a nail-biting conclusion that Alexander can only unravel decades later in 1990s New York. It features laborious acting and directing, and a screenplay whose revelations are uninteresting, even were they not guessable long in advance. It is like Jeffrey Archer with a twist. As the bushy haired Russian filmmaker, Elmer Bäck looks and behaves like Harpo Marx. Respectably put together but inert, the basic-cable-ready picture has slim theatrical prospects but may attract some attention thanks to current Russophobia. You can find our Community Guidelines in full here. It is a wearily predictable tale of coincidence and tragedy. It's all very Mills & Boonsky, with plinky piano music and overwrought strings trying to do what the screenplay doesn't, and generate some excitement. Starring. Both had parents that died when they were young.” She says about Katya, “Katya wants to destroy the system that killed her dissident parents, and so Misha finds the perfect recruit to be a spy because of everything Katya was brought up to believe. Available for everyone, funded by readers. Despite the Falling Snow is an absorbing tale of family, the Cold War, and mostly true love. Despite the Falling Snow is ostensibly a love story set against a Cold War thriller backdrop, but it features no heat and little tension. For all its invocations of Russian history, this is a glorified telenovela at heart. Share this. Last modified on Mon 3 Dec 2018 10.29 EST. This laboriously acted and directed spy tale-cum-love story is like a Jeffrey Archer airport novel with uninteresting, guessable revelations, Thu 14 Apr 2016 17.15 EDT She has been published in national and international newspapers and magazines as well as Internet websites. Don't have an account? Ferguson is an Ingrid Bergman-style actress.

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