"Despite the Falling Snow" from 2016 is a well-produced film with very good music and a good cast, including Rebecca Ferguson in a dual role as Lauren and her Aunt Katya.
The story is told in flashback. Lauren, an excellent artist, has been invited to show in the new Russia. She intends to go, despite her Uncle Alexander's (Charles Dance) protests. Lauren knows she bears a strong resemblance to Alexander's wife, Katya, whom he left behind in Russia - unwillingly. She wants to know what happened to her aunt.
Alexander, Katya, and Mischa (Anthony Head) were all spies in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. Katya meets Sasha at a cocktail party. She is encouraged by her handler, Mischa (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), to cultivate Sasha. While she pretends to be an avowed Communist, Katya hates the Communists for killing her parents and is spying for the U. S. Mischa believes that Sasha will have some good information for her to pass along.
However, Katya falls in love with Sasha and marries him - not what Masha had planned! Does as told. But, what starts as espionage ends in Katya falling hard for the personable and handsome Misha, as he also loves her, and marrying him, much to Misha's dismay. Complications arise.
I found this story slow, and I also realized immediately it wasn't filmed in Russia, and that no one involved with the production knew much about Russia. First of all, it's quite cold there. These people are walking around with woolen coats, scarves jauntily around their necks, and little wool hats. And the clothes were wrong. Not believable.
There was a complaint that the Russians spoke with British accents. I have a question - did you expect them to speak English with a Russian accent? How about that they're speaking Russian, and a British accent, used in Chekov and many other Russian stories, is completely appropriate.
The film moved slowly. The acting was good. I just couldn't get swept up in the story.
The story is told in flashback. Lauren, an excellent artist, has been invited to show in the new Russia. She intends to go, despite her Uncle Alexander's (Charles Dance) protests. Lauren knows she bears a strong resemblance to Alexander's wife, Katya, whom he left behind in Russia - unwillingly. She wants to know what happened to her aunt.
Alexander, Katya, and Mischa (Anthony Head) were all spies in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. Katya meets Sasha at a cocktail party. She is encouraged by her handler, Mischa (Oliver Jackson-Cohen), to cultivate Sasha. While she pretends to be an avowed Communist, Katya hates the Communists for killing her parents and is spying for the U. S. Mischa believes that Sasha will have some good information for her to pass along.
However, Katya falls in love with Sasha and marries him - not what Masha had planned! Does as told. But, what starts as espionage ends in Katya falling hard for the personable and handsome Misha, as he also loves her, and marrying him, much to Misha's dismay. Complications arise.
I found this story slow, and I also realized immediately it wasn't filmed in Russia, and that no one involved with the production knew much about Russia. First of all, it's quite cold there. These people are walking around with woolen coats, scarves jauntily around their necks, and little wool hats. And the clothes were wrong. Not believable.
There was a complaint that the Russians spoke with British accents. I have a question - did you expect them to speak English with a Russian accent? How about that they're speaking Russian, and a British accent, used in Chekov and many other Russian stories, is completely appropriate.
The film moved slowly. The acting was good. I just couldn't get swept up in the story.