Never Gonna Snow Again

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1:57

Never Gonna Snow Again

2021

1h 53m

Comedy

Drama

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

95%

Tomatometer

55 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

Fewer than 50 Ratings

On a gray, foggy morning outside a large Polish city, Zhenia (Alec Utgoff), a masseur from the East, enters the lives of the wealthy residents of a gated community. Using hypnotic, almost magical techniques to get a residence permit, he starts working. The well-to-do residents in their cookie-cutter homes seemingly have it all, but they all suffer from an inner sadness, some unexplained longing. The attractive and mysterious newcomer's hands heal, and Zhenia's eyes seem to penetrate their souls. To them, his Russian accent sounds like a song from the past, a memory of their seemingly safer childhoods. The latest from writer/director Malgorzata Szumowska (Elles, In the Name of) and her longtime collaborator Michal Englert is an unclassifiable meditation on class, immigration, and global warming with touches of magical realism and moments of sober beauty and subtle humor.

Critics Consensus

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.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

10/15/2021

4/5

Simultaneously gripping and sweetly bewildering.

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Peter Bradshaw

Guardian

10/12/2021

4/5

This is a fairytale: but a fantasy with solidity and form.

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Danny Leigh

Financial Times

10/07/2021

4/5

A filmthat asks a question for every answer it gives, and whose crackerjack images leave you wondering, in the best of senses: wait, what did I just see?

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Kent M. Wilhelm

Tilt Magazine

07/24/2023

Hypnotizes with arresting imagery and unpredictable character interactions, taking its audience on an enigmatic and atmospheric exploration into capitalism, climate change, and spirituality.

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Giuseppe Sedia

Kino Mania

07/20/2023

4/5

Story-wise, Never Gonna Snow Again (...) is a healing journey much like Body/Ciało (2015). The snow falling on the characters in the finale has the same cathartic power of the frogs falling from the sky in Paul Thomas Anderson’s Magnolia (1999).

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Yasser Medina

Cinefilia

12/27/2022

6/10

It examines, with a layer of magical realism and visual allegories, the socio-political condition of the Ukrainian immigrant, but I don't think even Alec Utgoff's solid effort prevents it from slowly falling like a flake of snow. [Full review in Spanish]

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Par H

@Parhwy May 21

Never Gonna Snow Again (2021) is a 113-minute-long Polish film I hired from my local library and saw in May 2026. I made a mistake with this film: I read the main paragraph of the blurb and misunderstood what I the film was about, centred on. I misjudged especially the word "guru". I really need to stop reading blurbs; I want to know as little as possible about the film. This film is beautiful, wonderful while being boring, dull and yet it is also ethereal, surreal. The camera and director are always giving us lovely shots. Interiors are lively, believable. Characters, especially background or secondary ones, seem robotic by design. I adored that kid, Maria’s daughter: she has seeing and sass beyond her years, her dialogue was fun. I do not recall laughing at much else, the adult interactions were mostly serious, awkward or strained (except the gate keeper, he was fun). Recommend? Yes. Rewatch? Maybe. 7/10.

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isla s

@RT89656869 09/02/2022

This film is very much arty, quirky and surreal and yet it works quite well. Its hard to explain properly but I felt it was really quite poignant by the end. Its partly about trust, dreams and secrets. There are one or two amusing moments, such as one with the main character, a masseur, working on a dog on his massage table. I'd recommend this film, yes.

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michael m

@RT09712951 08/25/2021

Interesting film, I enjoyed it more than most other virtual movies the past year.

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08/24/2021

Magical. They don't make movies like this one anymore.

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renaldo d

@RT30888824 08/18/2021

A true story of a superhero who delves into improving the lives of environments. An almost surrealism that must be considered as a true masterpiece

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08/07/2021

This movie should have been much better than it was. The theme of a masseur witnessing lives in a wealthy neighborhood is very promising, and these scenes were very well done. However, the movie then seemed unwilling to pursue it seriously, instead opting for sentimentality and a silly magical realism that was incoherent even by the standards of that genre. In the end, it was childish and unserious.

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Małgorzata Szumowska

Director

Alec Utgoff

Zenia

Maja Ostaszewska

Maria

Agata Kulesza

Ewa

Weronika Rosati

Wika

Katarzyna Figura

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Never Gonna Snow Again: Trailer 1

1:57

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Synopsis

On a gray, foggy morning outside a large Polish city, Zhenia (Alec Utgoff), a masseur from the East, enters the lives of the wealthy residents of a gated community. Using hypnotic, almost magical techniques to get a residence permit, he starts working. The well-to-do residents in their cookie-cutter homes seemingly have it all, but they all suffer from an inner sadness, some unexplained longing. The attractive and mysterious newcomer's hands heal, and Zhenia's eyes seem to penetrate their souls. To them, his Russian accent sounds like a song from the past, a memory of their seemingly safer childhoods. The latest from writer/director Malgorzata Szumowska (Elles, In the Name of) and her longtime collaborator Michal Englert is an unclassifiable meditation on class, immigration, and global warming with touches of magical realism and moments of sober beauty and subtle humor.

Director: Małgorzata Szumowska
Producer: Michał Englert, Viola Fügen, Małgorzata Szumowska, Agnieszka Wasiak, Michael Weber, Mariusz Włodarski
Screenwriter: Małgorzata Szumowska, Michał Englert
Distributor: Kino Lorber
Production Co: Lava Films, Polsko-Niemiecki Fundusz Filmowy, Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej, Film- und Medienstiftung NRW, Cinecopro Award , Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg, DI Factory, Warszawski Fundusz Filmowy, Kino Świat, Arte, Deutscher Filmförderfonds, Amsterdam Post Lab, Match Factory Productions, Maziowiecki Fundusz Filmowy
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: Polish
Release Date (Theaters): Jul 30, 2021, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jul 30, 2021
Box Office (Gross USA): $15.3K
Runtime: 1h 53m
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)