Indie Cinema Magazine
Despite the Falling Snow is a romantic drama with elements of an espionage thriller which intersects events from post-Stalinist Russia with the United States in the 1990s.Rebecca Ferguson has created an unforgettable image of a young Russian woman trapped between two men. Enchanting faces and majestic landscapes with falling snow and an expressive score – all of this creates a passionate and mysterious atmosphere. The film is full of tension, drama and emotion.Some critics objected to the supposedly unrealistic costumes and details of the lifestyle of Russians. However, I can not agree with that. The style of life of Russian people has always been dependent on the social status of people, even at that time and the elite which was depicted in the film certainly were not ordinary folk. To the director's credit, she has avoided the thoroughly traded road of vulgarization of the Russian people on the silver screen.The actors have created characters which are true to life and difficult to forget. There are no doubts that the film will become one of the classics of its genre.Sarif has definitively made a great casting, the role of older Misha was played by Anthony Head who brilliantly accomplished the difficult task of creating highly emotionally charged scenes at the end of the movie.Read more at: http://indie-cinema.com/2016/08/despite-the-falling-snow/
Sandra Milner
Now that the Iron Curtain has collapsed and we have access to not only to modern Russia and former Soviet and Bloc countries, but we can now uncover stuff that took place in all those years without any restrictions. Historians even have access to restricted stuff as governments have made a lot of it public.This film looks like an 80's film that imagines how things were like in the Soviet Union. There are many things about it that show a Western Cold War perspective of life in the Soviet Union, as well as politics and such. It is not well researched, if at all. The same director has a story about two women in a relationship in the apartheid era and another film about a Muslim woman who cancels her wedding because she's in love with another woman. These are her three feature films. I haven't seen the other two, but seeing how clichéd and un-researched Despite the Falling Snow is, I doubt that she spent a lot of time researching Islamic society or apartheid South Africa.I say "director" when people expect me to say writer, but Sarif is the writer for all her films. This lack of outside input doesn't help.So many directors spend endless hours researching life in their own country in the 90's and 80's, times when they were around. They put the time and effort to research the language, clothing, technology, etc. This film doesn't waste any time on that. "It's just in the Soviet Union, accept it. It's not accurate, move on. Just look at Ferguson. Isn't she pretty?"If some actors are type-cast, then Samim is type-directing. Cheesy love story, history as a back drop rather than a setting, very beautiful actresses to distract from the plot. In almost every film that's what people talk about, good and bad reviews, how beautiful the actresses are.Most people that watch films want a bit more than eye candy.
newjersian
Maybe for a western movie goer who doesn't know the realities of the former Soviet Union that soap opera is watchable. But for people who came from behind the iron curtain this movie looks like a good parody. In every detail: clothes, make ups, looks of the soviet streets and people,the shown events everything is unbelievably wrong.It always makes you wonder on why the film makers spent millions on producing such a movie, but couldn't they hire a consultant? The mistakes they made are so plentiful that, where I should've cried for a beautiful Katya, I couldn't hold my giggles. Unfortunately, that movie was dubbed in Russian language and shown there in many movie theaters. I can only imagine with what epithets the Russian viewers commented the film. Many times I read in the Russian newspapers that Americans are stupid. And what can they think after watching that rubbish?
venisefillies
I am surprised this film has an average rating since the acting is great. Rebecca Ferguson is her beautiful talented self again and her versatility is once again displayed. Sharif did a great job casting and directing her as lead. I want to thank Shamim for the little but breathtaking scenes between Rebecca and Antje it was fireworks. I mean who can resist such striking blue eyes. I would've liked more scenes between them because their characters are not as developed although understandably so of course. I like films about war and I am a sucker for romance so I get two things I like in one film. Antje's eyes will get her anywhere and of course her talent and if you're a fan of Rebecca and Sharif then you have to see this film. Loved it so much.
AD
