This movie has a really good cast but somehow it turns out to be acting that's worse than a college production and a script that was written by a 90 year old. Zzzzzz. Really slow, quite boring, full of stupid sexist cliches. Switching between past and present is awful. Also, they couldn't afford Ryan Gosling, so discount Ryan Gosling!

This drama combined Cold War intrigue with romance, as it toggles back and forth between the height of the conflict in 1959 and the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1992.

The central image for the film is a stunning work of art that is the centerpiece of an exhibit by artist Lauren Grinkova. A series of strips combine to form the luminous face of the artist's aunt, Katya "Katusha" Grinkova, a Soviet spy funneling state secrets to the Americans.

Katusha married Alexander "Sasha" Ivanov, a top official in the Soviet Foreign Ministry. The marriage was based on love, and Katusha stopped the spying once she was married. But she was blackmailed by Misha, another spy who was caught by the KGB. Misha holds the key to understanding how Katusha was sold out and what became of her.

The screenplay becomes overly involved with a subplot between the artist Lauren and a journalist, whose father was caught up in the complex defection of Sasha. The loose ends of this convoluted narrative were never quite completely tied up.

Still, the film is successful in juggling the parallel time frames. But, above all, it succeeds in conveying the collateral damage that occurred during the long struggle of the two superpowers. In this case, a human face conveyed the tragedy of this long, futile, and destructive conflict.

Artists can often offer a greater feeling for calamity than words can express. Such is the case of Lauren's unforgettable art work that memorializes Katya "Katusha" Grinkova.

"Despite the Falling Snow" from 2016 is a well-produced film with very good music and a good cast, including Rebecca Ferguson in a dual role as Lauren and her Aunt Katya.

The story is told in flashback. Lauren, an excellent artist, has been invited to show in the new Russia. She intends to go, despite her Uncle Alexander's (Charles Dance) protests. Lauren knows she bears a strong resemblance to Alexander's wife, Katya, whom he left behind in Russia - unwillingly. She wants to know what happened to her aunt.

Alexander, Katya, and Mischa (Anthony Head) were all spies in the Soviet Union in the 1960s. Katya meets Sasha at a cocktail party. She is encouraged by her handler, Mischa (Oliver Jackson-Cohen),to cultivate Sasha. While she pretends to be an avowed Communist, Katya hates the Communists for killing her parents and is spying for the U. S. Mischa believes that Sasha will have some good information for her to pass along.

However, Katya falls in love with Sasha and marries him - not what Masha had planned! Does as told. But, what starts as espionage ends in Katya falling hard for the personable and handsome Misha, as he also loves her, and marrying him, much to Misha's dismay. Complications arise.

I found this story slow, and I also realized immediately it wasn't filmed in Russia, and that no one involved with the production knew much about Russia. First of all, it's quite cold there. These people are walking around with woolen coats, scarves jauntily around their necks, and little wool hats. And the clothes were wrong. Not believable.

There was a complaint that the Russians spoke with British accents. I have a question - did you expect them to speak English with a Russian accent? How about that they're speaking Russian, and a British accent, used in Chekov and many other Russian stories, is completely appropriate.

The film moved slowly. The acting was good. I just couldn't get swept up in the story.