''Never Gonna Snow Again'' ( pl, Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie) is a 2020 Polish-German
comedy-drama film
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
directed by
Małgorzata Szumowska
Małgorzata Szumowska (; born 26 February 1973) is a Polish film director, screenwriter and producer, born in Kraków.
Her 2013 film '' In the Name Of'' received the Teddy Award for Best Feature at the 63rd Berlin International Film Festival, an ...
and
. It stars
Alec Utgoff
Alec Utgoff ( rus, Олег Володимирович Утгоф; born 1 March 1986) is a Ukrainian-born British actor. He pursued acting and graduated from the prestigious Drama Centre London. He is known for playing the role of Aleksandr Bor ...
,
Maja Ostaszewska
Maja Ostaszewska (born 3 September 1972) is a Polish actress.
Biography
She was born in Kraków, the daughter of Polish musician Jacek Ostaszewski, of the Ostoja Clan. Ostaszewska was raised Buddhist. She started her acting training in her n ...
,
Agata Kulesza
Agata Kulesza-Figurska (; born 27 September 1971) is a Polish film, television and stage actress, and a member of the Polish Film Academy. ,
Weronika Rosati
Weronika Anna Rosati (; born 9 January 1984) is a Polish actress. She made her acting debut in 2000, and first gained recognition playing Ania in the Polish soap opera ''M jak miłość'' (2002–2005, 2018–2020). She appeared in several othe ...
,
Katarzyna Figura
Katarzyna Małgorzata Figura (Polish pronunciation: ; born 22 March 1962) is a Polish film, theatre and television actress. She is sometimes billed as "Kasia Figura", as in ''Prêt-à-Porter'', Robert Altman's 1994 film.
Career
Figura was bor ...
,
Andrzej Chyra,
Łukasz Simlat
Łukasz Simlat (born 11 December 1977) is a Polish actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows since 2000.
Biography
Graduate of the Secondary School named after Emilia Plater in Sosnowiec. For two years he attended the ...
, and Krzysztof Czeczot.
The film premiered at the
77th Venice International Film Festival
The 77th annual Venice International Film Festival was held from 2 to 12 September 2020, albeit in a "more restrained format" due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Australian actress Cate Blanchett was appointed as the President of the Jury. '' The Ti ...
, where it competed in the main competition. It was selected as the Polish entry for the
Best International Feature Film at the
93rd Academy Awards
The 93rd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored films released from January 1, 2020, to February 28, 2021, at Union Station in Los Angeles. The ceremony was held on April 25, 2021 ...
, but failed to receive a nomination.
It garnered seven
Polish Film Award
Polish Film Award, or Eagle ( pl, Polska Nagroda Filmowa, „Orzeł”) is a film awards ceremony given annually since 1999, with the first event held on 21 June, by the National Chamber of Audiovisual Producers (KIPA). Since 2003 they are given ...
nominations, winning Best Cinematography.
Plot
While working as a masseur in a gated community in Poland, Zhenia, a Russian-speaking immigrant from the East unexpectedly builds a cult following.
Cast
*
Alec Utgoff
Alec Utgoff ( rus, Олег Володимирович Утгоф; born 1 March 1986) is a Ukrainian-born British actor. He pursued acting and graduated from the prestigious Drama Centre London. He is known for playing the role of Aleksandr Bor ...
as Zhenia
*
Maja Ostaszewska
Maja Ostaszewska (born 3 September 1972) is a Polish actress.
Biography
She was born in Kraków, the daughter of Polish musician Jacek Ostaszewski, of the Ostoja Clan. Ostaszewska was raised Buddhist. She started her acting training in her n ...
as Maria
*
Agata Kulesza
Agata Kulesza-Figurska (; born 27 September 1971) is a Polish film, television and stage actress, and a member of the Polish Film Academy. as Ewa
*
Weronika Rosati
Weronika Anna Rosati (; born 9 January 1984) is a Polish actress. She made her acting debut in 2000, and first gained recognition playing Ania in the Polish soap opera ''M jak miłość'' (2002–2005, 2018–2020). She appeared in several othe ...
as Wika / Zhenia's mother
*
Katarzyna Figura
Katarzyna Małgorzata Figura (Polish pronunciation: ; born 22 March 1962) is a Polish film, theatre and television actress. She is sometimes billed as "Kasia Figura", as in ''Prêt-à-Porter'', Robert Altman's 1994 film.
Career
Figura was bor ...
as Gucci
*
Andrzej Chyra as Captain
*
Łukasz Simlat
Łukasz Simlat (born 11 December 1977) is a Polish actor. He has appeared in more than 60 films and television shows since 2000.
Biography
Graduate of the Secondary School named after Emilia Plater in Sosnowiec. For two years he attended the ...
as Wika's husband
* Krzysztof Czeczot as Maria's husband
Critical reception
On
review aggregator
A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...
, ''Never Gonna Snow Again'' holds an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critical consensus reads, "Led by Alec Utgoff's impressive starring performance, ''Never Gonna Snow Again'' blends elements of sci-fi, satire, and surreal drama with an assured hand." On
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' placed the film at number 35 on its list of the 50 best films of 2021 in the UK.
Regarding the character of Zhenia, Giuseppe Sedia wrote on ''Kino Mania'': "Ukrainians are the biggest foreign community in Poland and are looked at by many as a mere workforce. Zhenia instead is welcomed as a wonderful alien, almost a messiah figure capable of manipulating and healing the bodies and maybe unintentionally, the souls of his clients".
See also
*
*
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Never Gonna Snow Again
2020 films
2020 comedy-drama films
Polish comedy-drama films
German comedy-drama films
2020s Polish-language films
2020s Russian-language films
Films directed by Małgorzata Szumowska
Films set in Poland
Films about immigration to Europe
Films about hypnosis
2020 multilingual films
Polish multilingual films
German multilingual films