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Never Gonna Snow Again

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Never Gonna Snow Again
Film poster
PolishŚniegu już nigdy nie będzie
Directed byMałgorzata Szumowska
Michał Englert
Screenplay byMichał Englert
Małgorzata Szumowska
Produced byAgnieszka Wasiak
Mariusz Włodarski
Viola Fügen
Michael Weber
Małgorzata Szumowska
Michał Englert
Starring
CinematographyMichał Englert
Edited byJarosław Kamiński [pl]
Production
companies
Distributed by
  • Kino Świat (Poland)
  • Real Fiction (Germany)
Release dates
  • 7 September 2020 (2020-09-07) (Venice)[1]
  • 4 June 2021 (2021-06-04) (Poland)[2]
Running time
113 minutes[1]
CountriesPoland
Germany
LanguagesPolish
Russian
Box office$96,423[3][4]

Never Gonna Snow Again (Polish: Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie) is a 2020 Polish-German comedy-drama film directed by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert.[5] It stars Alec Utgoff, Maja Ostaszewska, Agata Kulesza, Weronika Rosati, Katarzyna Figura, Andrzej Chyra, Łukasz Simlat, and Krzysztof Czeczot.

The film premiered at the 77th Venice International Film Festival, where it competed in the main competition.[6][7] It was selected as the Polish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but failed to receive a nomination.[8] It garnered seven Polish Film Award nominations, winning Best Cinematography.[9]

Plot

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A young man named Zhenia crosses the border from Ukraine to Poland with a collapsible massage table under his arm and heads to the immigration office in Warsaw. There, he tells the officer he wants to live in Poland, takes the officer's head in his hands, and puts him in a trance, allowing him to stamp and sign his own residence permit.

Zhenia moves into a Warsaw housing estate. He begins regularly visiting his upper-class clients in a gated community on the outskirts of the city, including the housewife Maria and the widow Ewa. A father with cancer also clings to Zhenia's healing hands in a last hope. Right after the father's death, Zhenia has sex with his widow. During a public magic show with her, he disappears without a trace.

Despite their wealth, the residents of this gated community radiate an inner sadness. Zhenia often uses hypnosis and appears to have telekinetic abilities. In a flashback, the viewer learns that his mother, from Prypiat, died from the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, and he couldn't help her. It also becomes clear that the original film title refers to this disaster. At the end of the film, it snows.

Cast

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Production

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In December 2019, it was reported that Małgorzata Szumowska had started shooting a film under the working title Wonder Zenia on location in and around Warsaw. Ukrainian-born actor Alec Utgoff was cast in the title role, while Polish actresses Agata Kulesza, Maja Ostaszewska, Weronika Rosati and Katarzyna Figura were also cast.[10]

Critical reception

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On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Never Gonna Snow Again holds an approval rating of 94% based on 53 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. 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."[11] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".[12]

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".[13]

The Guardian placed the film at number 35 on its list of the 50 best films of 2021 in the UK.[14]

Accolades

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At the 77th Venice International Film Festival, Never Gonna Snow Again competed for the Golden Lion and received a special mention for its treatment of issues related to environment by the Premio Fondazione Fai Persona Lavoro Ambiente committee.[15] At the 2021 Polish Film Awards, the film received seven nominations: Best Actress (Kulesza and Ostaszewska), Best Supporting Actor (Chyra and Simlat), Best Costume Design (Katarzyna Lewińska), Best Makeup and Hairstyling (Waldemar Pokromski), and Best Cinematography (Michał Englert), winning the latter.[16] At the 2022 Chlotrudis Awards, it received five nominations: Best Performance by an Ensemble Cast, Best Actor (Utgoff), Best Original Screenplay, Best Sound Design and Best Cinematography.[17]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie (Never Gonna Snow Again)". Venice Film Festival. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  2. ^ "Kino Świat | ŚNIEGU JUŻ NIGDY NIE BĘDZIE |".
  3. ^ "Never Gonna Snow Again". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  4. ^ "Never Gonna Snow Again". The Numbers. Retrieved 17 September 2021.
  5. ^ "Never Gonna Snow Again". Cineuropa. Retrieved 31 July 2020.
  6. ^ Sharf, Zack (28 July 2020). "Venice Film Festival 2020 Full Lineup: Luca Guadagnino, Chloe Zhao, Gia Coppola, and More". IndieWire. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  7. ^ "Venezia 77 Competition". labiennale.org. La Biennale di Venezia. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
  8. ^ Roxborough, Scott. "Oscars: Poland Selects 'Never Gonna Snow Again' for International Feature Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  9. ^ "Orły 2021: "Zabij to i wyjedź z tego miasta" najlepszym filmem" (in Polish). filmpolski.pl. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  10. ^ Barraclough, Leo (16 December 2019). "'Stranger Things' Star Alec Utgoff Set for Berlin Winner Malgorzata Szumowska's 'Wonder Zenia' (Exclusive)".
  11. ^ "Never Gonna Snow Again (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 30 November 2022.
  12. ^ "Never Gonna Snow Again Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 6 November 2021.
  13. ^ Sedia, Giuseppe (26 November 2021). "Never Gonna Snow Again (2021)". Kino Mania. Retrieved 6 December 2021.
  14. ^ Pulver, Andrew (3 December 2021). "The 50 best films of 2021 in the UK: 50-11". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 4 December 2021. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Collateral Awards of the 77th Venice Film Festival". La Biennale di Venezia. 11 September 2020. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 10 March 2024.
  16. ^ "Nominacje do Polskich Nagród Filmowych Orły 2021 ogłoszone". PwC.
  17. ^ "2022, 28th Annual Awards". Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films. Archived from the original on 10 March 2024. Retrieved 29 December 2023.
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