Despite the Falling Snow 2016 Movie Review

『Wounds and Secrets Buried in the Snow, and the Quiet Blossoming of Love Between Two Women』

🎥 Film Overview

🎬 Title: Despite the Falling Snow (2016)
🌍 Country: 🇬🇧 United Kingdom
🎞️ Genre: Spy Drama / Romance / Queer Narrative
⏳ Runtime: 97 minutes
📢 Director: Shamim Sarif
🖋️ Screenplay: Shamim Sarif
📖 Based on: Novel of the same name by Shamim Sarif
📺 Platform: Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, etc.

👩‍💼 Cast: Rebecca Ferguson – Katya / Lauren
Antje Traue – Marina

🧩 In-Depth Story Exploration (Spoilers)

❄️ Hidden Love and Pain in a Cold Era

Against the vast backdrop of Cold War tensions between the Soviet Union and the United States, the love between spy Katya and Foreign Ministry official Alexander (Sasha) was destined to involve danger and sacrifice. Their secret relationship, betrayal, and Katya’s sudden disappearance remained a long-standing mystery. Lauren, Sasha’s niece and an artist, prepares for her exhibition in Moscow while uncovering her family’s past, and in the process meets investigative journalist Marina.

🎨 The Function of Relationships: Aiding the Truth-Seeking and Acting as a Mirror

The meeting between Lauren and Marina is not merely for romance; it plays an essential role in Lauren’s quest to uncover Katya’s mystery.

• Driving Force of the Investigation: Lauren arrives in Moscow motivated by her personal desire to uncover her aunt’s truth. Marina, as an investigative journalist in post-Soviet Russia, provides Lauren with local access and crucial information, helping her reach people she could not approach alone (notably, the elderly Misha). Marina becomes the “key” that enables Lauren to move forward in her search.

• Emotional Connection: Lauren and Marina’s relationship evolves beyond assistance into a romantic bond. In contrast to Katya and Alexander’s love that was destroyed by ideology and betrayal, their romance represents a new form of love blossoming in the 1990s post-Soviet era. It symbolizes how the essence of love remains constant across time, but once ideological oppression falls away, love can be expressed more freely.

• Generational Contrast: Katya and Alexander’s relationship began with a lie (her spy identity) and ended in tragic truth. Meanwhile, Lauren and Marina’s relationship begins with truth (journalistic inquiry) and suggests new possibilities.

🌹 Marina’s Hidden Role: Legacy of the Past and Complex Motives

Marina is not simply Lauren’s lover. She is indirectly shaped by the past narrative, a descendant of another victim of the Cold War.

• Hidden Motives: While outwardly helping Lauren investigate, Marina is also driven by her own personal reasons. Her father, Dmitri, was entangled in Alexander’s defection and suffered as a result. Thus, Marina’s involvement reflects a deeply personal motive to uncover the truth as well.

• Collision of Past and Present: Marina represents the consequences of Alexander’s defection and its chain of tragedies. Through her, Lauren and Alexander are forced to confront not only Katya’s story but also the sacrifices of others around them. Marina embodies how actions of the past can reverberate decades later, shaping lives even 30 years on.

🔍 Critical Perspective: Depth and Limitations of the Relationships

While Lauren and Marina’s romance expands the film’s thematic scope, critics have pointed out shortcomings in its depth and execution.

• Rapid Development: Their romance develops very quickly, leaving little time for emotional depth to be established. Given that Katya and Alexander’s relationship was also criticized as somewhat superficial, the modern romance too risks being seen as a functional plot device rather than a fully realized emotional arc.

• Connection with the Main Plot: Some critics argue that Lauren and Marina’s relationship, instead of reinforcing the central mystery of Katya, remains somewhat detached as a separate arc, affecting the cohesion of the overall narrative.

• Significance of LGBTQ+ Representation: The inclusion of the lesbian storyline from the original novel into the film carries significance. It highlights the contrast between the rigid social climate of the Cold War and the more open atmosphere of 1990s Russia, as well as the rarity of such queer narratives in mainstream cinema at that time.

🌈 Solidarity and Healing Beyond Wounds

The relationship between Lauren and Marina serves in Despite the Falling Snow as both a hopeful answer to a past tragic love and a catalyst for uncovering historical truth. However, the short runtime and the film’s complex dual timelines prevented their emotional arc from being fully developed, leaving their romance more as a supporting role to the central narrative rather than a story explored in depth.

🎯 Personal Rating

💕 Love Scene Intensity: ♥♥
⭐ Rating: ★★★★