Antje Traue Admittedly I had high hopes for Despite The Falling Snow, I imagined something reminiscent of The Debt (which I didnt like) or Sarahs Key (which I did). Her reliable performances aside, Ferguson is also the subject of Despite The Falling Snows most striking image a trompe-lil portrait of Katya in an exhibition of new Russian art in 1992, in a gallery setting which is revisited time and time again on the way to an anti-climactic revelation. Moscow, 1959. The film is based on her book of the same name and plays outover two time periods. The novels journey back to the snowbound streets of post-Stalinist Moscow reveals a precarious, dangerous world of secrets and treachery. A Cold War spy thriller from Steven Spielberg thats as sleek, robust and alluring as a vintage Rolls Royce. This should be known by a government agency. Sign up to get our cinematic goodness delivered to your inbox every weekend. It is like Jeffrey Archer with a twist. the Terms and Policies, and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes. Lauren: Sorry, are you going to interview me about my work, or my family? despite the falling snow ending explained. Katya and Mishas personal relationship is more interesting. Watch Despite The Falling Snow (UK Trailer). Reconciling her . Meanwhilein 1990s New York Katyas niece Lauren, an artist, is making plans to discover what happened to her aunt. I think Rebecca Ferguson tries hard but the chemistry between herAntje Traue is non-existent and Trauejust seems uncomfortable with the whole thing. Warner Bros. When she lands her biggest assignment, stealing secrets from rising government star Alexander, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with him. [1] It was first published on May 4, 2004 through Headline Book Publishing and is set during two different time periods. Ultimately, we are never empathise for these characters and importantly are never scared for Katya. The main draw of Despite The Falling Snow is a dual performance by Rebecca Ferguson, who shot this in between her Emmy-nominated work on The White Queen and her memorable breakthrough role in. Request more information. In 1950s Moscow, communist Katya secretly spies for the Americans in the Cold War arms race. As the final credits roll, that overarching theme about photos being timeless rings true. Assuming an undercover identity is an integral part of Katyas profession, so it is not immediately clear that they are different people. Tap "Sign me up" below to receive our weekly newsletter Despite the Falling Snow jumps between the years 1959-1961 and 1991, moving from Moscow to New York and back again. Get the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox! The other half is set in what feels like the present day that is, 1992, just after the fall of the Soviet Union, when the aging Sasha, now played by Charles Dance as a successful but haunted New York businessman, watches as his artist niece goes to Moscow to learn what happened to Katya all those years ago. In Moscow in 1959, Katya pursues rising Soviet politician Alexander (Sam Reid) at the encouragement of their friend Misha (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) so that she can share his secrets with the Americans. How about over dinner? Charles Dance and Anthony Head (as the older Misha)dont really put anything into their roles,although they occasionally, and rather grossly, ham them up. 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A film set in two time periods is always going to suffer slightly, all the jumping back and forth between storylines can disengage the audience from what is going on. Alas, Lauren is going in there to read about this sort of thing, and so, even the slicker transitions slide the film right back into sub-Who Do You Think You Are procedural before it can really gather any steam. See production, box office & company info, (written for the screen by) (novel "Despite the Falling Snow"). Their relationship, in fact,is treated quite superficially. The film is set in the post-Stalinist Soviet Union. All Rights Reserved. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Review: Missing turns up more terrors in tech and true crime, Indie film is at a crossroads. and the You never feel any strong emotions between them. You could argue that this deepens the central mystery, wondering how the characters changed so much over the years, except that this mystery is maddeningly obvious from quite early on, thanks to the deceptively convoluted structure. Hes supposed to be the films romantic hero, but he is, in fact, a Soviet bureaucrat of such mealy sweet ineffectuality that his title is senior assistant to the third deputy minister of foreign affairs. (He would probably think that Despite the Falling Snow is a good title.). Displaying promises of a polished melodrama, the archetypal romance between between Katya and Alexandre (on which the plot largely feeds) is more mawkish than emotionally charged. If this film were produced back in her day, Bergman would have been the obvious choice. The most confounding failure of Despite the Falling Snow is how it portrays the central ambiguity of the love story. Rebecca Ferguson (currently onscreen in Life) plays the artist, Lauren, who in 1991 leaves New York for a Moscow gallery show. Although the scantness of Alexs kitchen does sort of give away the fact that he hasnt cooked so much as had the prop department place a saucepan on the cooker. When a films basic strategy is to cut between the past and the present, it should create ripples of anticipatory tension. despite the falling snow ending explained +10 What wintertime climate change has meant for South Jersey In Cold War Moscow, a female spy steals secrets from an idealistic politician - and . Laurenis supposed to be close to her Uncle Alex but her understanding of him is thin to say the least. Again, theres great potential here but its never really explored. As we learn from the films flashbacks to 1959, Katya is a staunch anti-Communist who is tasked with spying on Sacha, who was then a promising young government employee (and played by Sam Reid), for fellow spy Misha (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), but she finds herself falling for her mark. 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 Laurens art but actually shares an interest in Alex and Katyas story. Very glad I saw it. The mystery of the story is so simple andclichdit is impossible to engage with. Director-screenwriter: Shamim Sarif This laboriously acted and directed spy tale-cum-love story is like a Jeffrey Archer airport novel with uninteresting, guessable revelations. | These days even the most amateur of filmmakers can make a small production budget work. with updates on movies, TV shows, Rotten Tomatoes podcast and more. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more. Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter, Novelist/filmmaker Shamim Sarif goes to Cold War-era Russia for the espionage-laced love story 'Despite the Falling Snow.'. Courtesy of Falling Snow Ltd. 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 . But Despite the Falling Snow, which is at once overreaching and threadbare, busy and tedious, is like a hastily scrawled sketch for the movies to come. Also, whenneither ofthe time periods isthe one were living in, as a viewer we have a lot more to understand. Despite the Falling Snow is a 2004 book by Shamim Sarif. Author Sidney Sheldon writes about heroines attempting to navigate their way through a mans world, confronting the dangers and desires of the heart. Cast: Rebecca Ferguson, Sam Reid, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Charles Dance, Anthony Head, Antje Traue, Thure Lindhardt In 1950s Moscow Katya is a spy for the Americans and is encouraged to marry and steal secrets from the young politician Alex. Falling For Christmas Ending Explained (In Detail) By Jessica Smith Published Nov 14, 2022 Netflix has kicked off the Holiday season in true Hallmark fashion with Falling For Christmas, and the ending could leave space for a sequel. Rebecca Ferguson, Following on from Rebecca Fergusons last role as the sassy spy alongside Ethan Hunt, this should be mission possible. Your AMC Ticket Confirmation# can be found in your order confirmation email. Be the first to contribute! Whatever potential subtlety and complexity we are promised does not materialise only hammy airport-bestseller histrionics, and the whole movie sometimes seems submerged in a kind of cold-tea sepia look, appropriate to its historical background. It feels abridged, almost as though the film has to come in under a time limit, and many of the important beats dont really get time to land. If I'm not watching films I'm doing exceptionally nerdy stuff, like watching documentaries about the history of medicine and collecting photos of old post boxes. The picture was written and directed by the British author Shamim Sarif, adapting her novel of the same name (as she has done twice before, with The World Unseen and I Cant Think Straight), and its the kind of dud in which the bad decisions pile up as you watch. 2023 The Hollywood Reporter, LLC. Coming Soon, Regal Unless you have someone with you. Furthermore, bad production choices just make some of the film no better than a TV movie, and one from the 90s at that. Despite the rain, we enjoyed the festival. Alan Rickmans final screen outing is a textbook exercise in bringing modern warfare to the big screen. 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A Cold War romantic espionage thriller, rooted in the suddenly sexy subject of Russia, keeps tripping over its own ineptitude. During the Cold War, a female spy steals secrets from a politician after falling in love with him. Composer: Rachel Portman Lauren sets out for Moscow and with the help of political reporter Marina (Antje Traue), sets about trying to uncover what happened to her aunt. When the preview of Despite The Falling Snow the film appeared on YouTube a song performed by Ella Henderson called "Now You Say You Love Me" featured prominently toward the end. It's rated PG-13 for some sexuality and violence. Theactors have been placed inside some kind of cobbled together CGI set ofreal and fake images, and badly. Just confirm how you got your ticket. Katya works for her friend Misha (played very well by Oliver Jackson-Cohen), together they both work for the Americans. The movie has a surface similarity to Allied, last years Brad Pitt-Marion Cotillard World War II thriller, because its yet another story of an agent who marries one of the enemy to advance her cause. The smoothest of these comes when one Ferguson walks out of the state archive in Moscow after a dangerous mission, as another Ferguson walks in. In 1950s Moscow, communist Katya secretly spies for the Americans in the Cold War arms race. This 10-digit number is your confirmation number. There is a suggestion of a romantic interest, but of course she has to be with Alex. This can just add to our confusion. When she begins spying on Alexander, an idealistic Communist politician, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with him. Marina: Why not both? Not that any of us would have known this. The story takes us into post-stalinist Russia at the height of the Cold War, with Katya (Rebecca Ferguson) as an American spy tasked with stealing intel from do-gooder Russian politician, Alexander (Sam Reid). Flag etiquette requires that it have the field in the upper left corner. Despite the Falling Snow is a 2016 British Cold War espionage film directed by Shamim Sarif, adapted from her novel of the same name. For the 2016 film, see, "Movies, Marriage and Mayhem with Shamim Sarif: From Moscow with Love (Ep. Director Shamim Sarif Writer Shamim Sarif (written for the screen by) Stars Rebecca Ferguson Sam Reid Charles Dance See production, box office & company info Watch on Freevee Watch Free on Freevee More watch options . Romance, We know from the films opening that Alex defected while in New York, hoping that Katya would join him. When she lands her biggest assignment, stealing secrets from rising government star Alexander, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with him. This is also compounded by the questionable choice of casting Ferguson as not only the spy heroine but also as her daughter 30 years later, the same person just with a hipper haircut to usher in the era. In both the past and present the characters seem to be without any strong or discernible accents. Read Next: Animation Directors Use Cutting-Edge Tech to Amplify Emotion. One part of the story is set in 1950s Moscow, Russia during the Cold War years, while the other follows the story of 1992 Moscow and London in the period after the collapse of USSR. [1] Starring Rebecca Ferguson, Sam Reid, Charles Dance, Antje Traue, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Thure Lindhardt and Anthony Head, [2] the film was released in the United Kingdom on 15 April 2016. Coming Soon. Become a Member and support film journalism. His refreshing understatement contrasts with the more self-consciously stylised leads, which appears to owe more to Sarifs direction than their interpretation of the characters. All rights reserved. Executive producers: Ben White, Lisa Tchenguiz, Katherine Priestley Editor: Masahiro Hirakubo Shamim has adapted and directed the films of three of her novels including, most recently, Despite the Falling Snow. Starring Rebecca Ferguson, Sam Reid, Charles Dance, Antje Traue, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Thure Lindhardt and Anthony Head, the film was released in the United Kingdom on 15 April 2016.. Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast But a lot of this might be due to Sharifs creation of the character and her direction ofFerguson. You'll find that I'm an empathetic and fun sort of reviewer, at least, I like to think so. Despite being with a lot of loose ends, 'Under the Skin' is the epitome of abstract filmmaking, so much so, that the abstraction itself is abstract and questionable. Even at 93 minutes, Despite The Falling Snow feels less like an adaptation than a mood reel for the source material, giving a prcis of the story rather than a whole experience. Marvel Movies Ranked Worst to Best by Tomatometer, Jurassic Park Movies Ranked By Tomatometer, Golden Tomato Awards: Best Movies & TV of 2022, 10 WTF Horror Movies to Watch if You Loved M3GAN. I have a postgraduate education in film & have spent an exceptionally long time trying to get inside the film industry. This article is about the book. The plot bounces back and forth between time periods, jumping from a stylised period drama of the 50s to New York and Moscow of the 90s. Directed by the author, the story features Katyaplayed by Rebecca Ferguson in the moviea female spy in Cold War Moscow who steals secrets for the Americans from an idealistic Russian politicianall the while falling in love with him. There he remains, and for some reason has ended up being the father figure to Katyas niece Lauren. Also, her parents died but we dont know how or when, or how exactly she ended up in Alexs care. Its a particular gripe of mine that I hate films that try to get by in an 80s or 90s world just by ditching the mobile phones and wearing slightly unfashionable clothing. Weirdly, despite her great performance as Katya, Rebecca Ferguson falls short as Lauren. Katyas mission, however, becomes muddled when would you believe she falls in love with him. You'll be playing the guessing game on where it's going, and who is who. Mystery & thriller. So I was less than optimistic about the film as a whole when the opening titles were nothing more than a series ofhistorical film imagesoverlaid withsome pretty crass, amateur Times New Roman titles. At its core, "Falling for Christmas" may seem like a love story between Jake (Overstreet) and Sierra (Lohan), but the most crucial relationship is between Sierra and Avy (Olivia Perez). Despite the Falling Snow. All Rights Reserved. Up to three inches of snow could fall in less than four hours. Distributor: CARU Pictures 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? Its heady and fertile terrain for journalistic docudrama, for spy-vs.-cyber-spy suspense. What did you think of it? Coming Soon. In 1950s Moscow, communist Katya secretly spies for the Americans in the Cold War arms race. In fact, you never really feel any emotions about anything. The most successful part of Despite The Falling Snow takes place in the past. The movie is best described as a quite sedate Cold war espionage / love story in the 60's and the current time and about as far removed from James Bond as possible. This is all very confusing. Variety is a part of Penske Media Corporation. Plot Keywords The way in which the film is staggered across two time periods is one of the main reasons, but even aside from the Frogger-like crossings between the past and present of the story, it also feels as if the film has been edited within an inch of its life. Jake's . In particular, shes beguiled by her aunt Katya (also Ferguson), of whom she is the spitting image. By what name was Despite the Falling Snow (2016) officially released in India in English? despite the falling snow ending explained. Fast-forward to New York in 1991, and an older Alexander (Charles Dance) laments his wifes disappearance 30 years earlier, while Lauren tries to discover what happened to her aunt. Haruto continues to struggle finding an answer and purpose to his life, but vows to remember Misaki's memory every spring just like the fallen petals. Overall, the 90s is not very good. Follow ourTwitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. 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