
In 1950s Moscow, communist Katya secretly spies for the Americans in the Cold War arms race. 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. Reconciling her passion for him with her beliefs about communism means making the greatest sacrifice - of her life - a sacrifice that Alexander only uncovers thirty years later.... (Full plot summary below)
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In 1950s Moscow, communist Katya secretly spies for the Americans in the Cold War arms race. 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. Reconciling her passion for him with her beliefs about communism means making the greatest sacrifice - of her life - a sacrifice that Alexander only uncovers thirty years later.
Leave your thoughts about Despite the Falling Snow.
| Radio TimesDavid AldridgeIt's a taut and talky film, nicely played by all concerned. But given the big themes, it is a rather small affair with few cinematic qualities. |
| The ListAngie ErrigoIt's as if a quickly discarded, crumpled-up concept was pilfered from John le Carré's waste basket by a romance novelist. |
| Time OutDavid ClackDespite the Falling Snow is held back by stylistic choices. |
| HeyUGuysStefan PapeThis hackneyed endeavour struggles to free itself from the shackles of the genre tropes and expectations, never quite doing justice to the originality of the narrative at hand. |
| Independent (UK)Geoffrey MacnabFor all its invocations of Russian history, this is a glorified telenovela at heart. |
| GuardianPeter BradshawIt features laborious acting and directing, and a screenplay whose revelations are uninteresting, even were they not guessable long in advance. |
| Daily Mail (UK)Brian VinerIt's all very Mills & Boonsky, with plinky piano music and overwrought strings trying to do what the screenplay doesn't, and generate some excitement. Alas, that doesn't work either. |
| Little White LiesAdam ChapmanThere's great potential here, but the execution is far too clunky. |
| Daily Telegraph (UK)Tim RobeySo many shivery night-time clinches in Moscow fill Despite the Falling Snow’s modest runtime, you wonder what proportion of the budget went on that ever-whirring snow machine. |
| Movie TalkJason BestWriter-director Shamim Sarif... is aiming to create a tragic romance out of this intrigue yet misses her target thanks to her contrived plotting and trite dialogue. |