Never Gonna Snow Again

{{Infobox film

| name = Never Gonna Snow Again

| image = Never Gonna Snow Again.jpg

| caption = Film poster

| native_name = {{Infobox name module|pl|Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie}}

| director = Małgorzata Szumowska
Michał Englert

| producer = Agnieszka Wasiak
Mariusz Włodarski
Viola Fügen
Michael Weber
Małgorzata Szumowska
Michał Englert

| screenplay = Michał Englert
Małgorzata Szumowska

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| cinematography = Michał Englert

| editing = {{ill|Jarosław Kamiński|pl|Jarosław Kamiński (montażysta)}}

| studio = {{Plainlist|

Lava Films
Match Factory Productions
Mazovia Film Fund
Kino Świat
DI-Factory
Bayerischer Rundfunk

}}

| distributor = {{Plainlist|

Kino Świat (Poland)
Real Fiction (Germany)

}}

| released = {{film date|2020|9|7|Venice|ref1=|2021|6|4|Poland|df=yes|ref2={{Cite web|url=https://kinoswiat.pl/film/sniegu-juz-nigdy-nie-bedzie/|title=Kino Świat | ŚNIEGU JUŻ NIGDY NIE BĘDZIE |}}}}

| runtime = 113 minutes{{cite web|url=https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2020/venezia-77-competition/śniegu-już-nigdy-nie-będzie-never-gonna-snow-again|title=Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie (Never Gonna Snow Again)|website=Venice Film Festival|access-date=10 August 2020}}

| country = Poland
Germany

| language = Polish
Russian

| gross = $96,423{{cite web|title=Never Gonna Snow Again|website=Box Office Mojo|accessdate= 17 September 2021|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3641279233/weekend/}}{{cite web|title=Never Gonna Snow Again|website=The Numbers|accessdate= 17 September 2021|url=https://www.the-numbers.com/movie/Sniegu-juz-nigdy-nie-bedzie-(2020-Poland)#tab=summary}}

}}

Never Gonna Snow Again ({{langx|pl|Śniegu już nigdy nie będzie}}) is a 2020 Polish-German comedy-drama film directed by Małgorzata Szumowska and Michał Englert.{{cite web|url=https://cineuropa.org/film/390358/ |title=Never Gonna Snow Again |work=Cineuropa |accessdate=31 July 2020}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.indiewire.com/2020/07/venice-film-festival-2020-lineup-1234576400/|title=Venice Film Festival 2020 Full Lineup: Luca Guadagnino, Chloe Zhao, Gia Coppola, and More|last=Sharf|first=Zack|work=IndieWire|date=28 July 2020|accessdate=28 July 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/2020/venezia-77-competition|title=Venezia 77 Competition|publisher=La Biennale di Venezia|website=labiennale.org|date=28 July 2020|accessdate=28 July 2020}} It was selected as the Polish entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93rd Academy Awards, but failed to receive a nomination.{{cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/poland-picks-never-gonna-snow-again-2021-oscars-international-category-1306627 |title=Oscars: Poland Selects 'Never Gonna Snow Again' for International Feature Category |work=The Hollywood Reporter |first=Scott |last=Roxborough |accessdate=10 August 2020}} It garnered seven Polish Film Award nominations, winning Best Cinematography.{{cite web|url=https://filmpolski.pl/fp/index.php?artykul=889|title=Orły 2021: "Zabij to i wyjedź z tego miasta" najlepszym filmem|publisher=filmpolski.pl|language=Polish|access-date=22 June 2021}}

Plot

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

{{Cast list|

Alec Utgoff as Zhenia
Konstantin Solowiow as Young Zenia
Maja Ostaszewska as Maria
Agata Kulesza as Ewa
Weronika Rosati as Wika / Zhenia's mother
Katarzyna Figura as Gucci, owner of Bulldogs
Andrzej Chyra as Captain
Łukasz Simlat as Wika's husband
Krzysztof Czeczot as Maria's husband
Maciej Drosio as Jan
Astrid Nanowska as Blonde
Wojciech Starostecki as Blonde's Husband
Blanka Burzynska as Maria's daughter
Adrian Podlaski as Maria's son
Lena Wochal as Maria's daughter
Maria Seweryn as Director
Ewa Dałkowska as Zenia's Mother
Agata Trzebuchowska as Woman at a Concert

}}

Production

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.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/film/news/stranger-things-alec-utgoff-malgorzata-szumowska-wonder-zenia-1203439508/|title='Stranger Things' Star Alec Utgoff Set for Berlin Winner Malgorzata Szumowska's 'Wonder Zenia' (Exclusive)|first=Leo|last=Barraclough|date=16 December 2019}}

Critical reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, Never Gonna Snow Again holds an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} based on {{RT data|count}} reviews, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}. 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."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/never_gonna_snow_again|title=Never Gonna Snow Again (2020)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date|df=dmy}}|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106125952/https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/never_gonna_snow_again|archive-date=6 November 2021|url-status=live}} On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 73 out of 100, based on 7 critics, indicating "generally favourable reviews".{{cite web|url=https://www.metacritic.com/movie/never-gonna-snow-again|title=Never Gonna Snow Again Reviews|publisher=Metacritic|access-date=6 November 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106130131/https://www.metacritic.com/movie/never-gonna-snow-again|archive-date=6 November 2021|url-status=live}}

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".{{Cite web|author= Sedia, Giuseppe|date=26 November 2021|title=Never Gonna Snow Again (2021)|url= http://www.kino-mania.net/archives/358|work=Kino Mania|accessdate=6 December 2021}}

The Guardian placed the film at number 35 on its list of the 50 best films of 2021 in the UK.{{cite news|last=Pulver|first=Andrew|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/nov/30/the-50-best-films-of-2021-in-the-uk|title=The 50 best films of 2021 in the UK: 50-11|newspaper=The Guardian|date=3 December 2021|access-date=4 December 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211204122715/https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/nov/30/the-50-best-films-of-2021-in-the-uk|archive-date=4 December 2021|url-status=live}}

Accolades

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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.labiennale.org/en/news/collateral-awards-77th-venice-film-festival|title= Collateral Awards of the 77th Venice Film Festival|date=11 September 2020|website=La Biennale di Venezia|access-date=10 March 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310142413/https://www.labiennale.org/en/news/collateral-awards-77th-venice-film-festival|archive-date=10 March 2024}} 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.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pwc.pl/pl/media/2021/nominacje-do-polskich-nagrod-filmowych-2021-ogloszone.html|title=Nominacje do Polskich Nagród Filmowych Orły 2021 ogłoszone|website=PwC}} 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.{{cite web|url=https://chlotrudis.org/awards/past-awards/2022-28th-annual-awards/|title=2022, 28th Annual Awards|publisher=Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films|access-date=29 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310143015/https://chlotrudis.org/awards/past-awards/2022-28th-annual-awards/|archive-date=10 March 2024}}