Despite the Falling Snow (film)


Despite the Falling Snow is a 2016 British Cold War espionage film directed by Shamim Sarif, adapted from her novel of the same name. 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 April 15, 2016.

Plot

The film is set in the post-Stalinist Soviet Union. A young Soviet woman, Katya, lost her parents during the Stalinist repressions. Though she pretends to be a communist, she hates the regime and spies for the Americans. Her friend Misha, who is a spy, also helps her obtain important information for the Americans. As part of her next assignment, she meets the young and good-looking Sasha, who belongs to the Kremlin elite. In order to spy on him, Katya ends up marrying Sasha but not everything is going to the plan. Katya soon falls in love with Sasha, and plans to defect to the United States with him. However, just before her trip to the US, Katya mysteriously vanishes. Sasha stays in America alone, and over the course of 30 years becomes a successful businessman in America. Many years afterwards, he visits a post-communist Russia seeking to solve Katya's disappearance. He and his niece Lauren work together, searching for clues. They meet Misha, who has become an old alcoholic; he tells them what really happened to Katya.

Cast

The film was shot in Belgrade, Serbia. The film's score by Rachel Portman was performed by the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra.

Reception

The film won three awards at the 2016 Prague Independent Film Festival including Best Feature Film, Best Actress and Best Supporting Actor.
On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 9% based on 22 reviews, with an average rating of 4.12/10.