A migrant masseur holds sway over a privileged Polish community in Małgorzata Szumowska and Michal Englert’s hugely enjoyable satire.
As if brought in, Poppins-like, by a change of wind, Russian-speaking émigré Zhenia (a charismatic Alec Utgoff) crosses the Ukrainian border into in Poland, carrying a collapsible masseur’s table. After easing the pain of a border guard, Zhenia arrives at a gated residential community. Word of his skills as a masseur soon spread through the neighbourhood. But it’s not just muscles and joints that Zhenia is healing. Something is stirring in the small enclave. But what will the changes bring about?
A sly study of human interaction, both within the family and a close-knit, if not always friendly community, along with a sublime engagement with the theme of nationalism and identity defined by both geographic and emotional borders, Never Gonna Snow Again is one of the most original European drams of the last few years. Joined as director by long-term cinematographer Englert, Szumowska’s hugely entertaining drama cements her reputation after the festival circuit success of previous features The Other Lamb, In the Name Of andElles.
