In Never Gonna Snow Again, writer-director Malgorzata Szumowska and co-director Michal Englert present a folkloric tale about a wealthy gated Polish community that falls sway to the hypnotic healing of Ukrainian masseur, Zhenia (Alec Utgoff, Stranger Things). The genre-bending film plays with dark comedy, social satire, and hints of supernatural elements that create a richly atmospheric and whimsical story. The film was selected as Poland’s 2021 Oscar submission.
Never Gonna Snow Again opens with Zhenia emerging from a dark, spooky forest tinged in green mist, like a figure straight out of the pages of a Grimm fairy tale. He is almost as mystifying a figure to the Polish community as he is to viewers, our curiosity never fully sated before he’s out of our lives again, leaving us in a state of inexplicable limbo much like the community’s residents. We learn only a little about him in small crumbs scattered throughout the film. The elusive Zhenia is a solitary figure with seemingly no family or friends. Two men pursue him, but for what we never find out. Flashbacks and dream sequences expose Zhenia’s troubled past and the death of his mother after the Chernobyl disaster, during which a seven-year-old Zhenia mistook floating particles for snow. The Polish residents often comment on his origins and joke that he’s radioactive. They might not be far off. Zhenia certainly picked up powers beyond ordinary healing and hypnosis, but to what extent we’re never sure. The cloak of mystery wrapped around Zhenia builds suspense and intrigue throughout the film, although the payoff is never quite fully realized.
While the viewer is keenly interested in learning more about Zhenia, his bougie Polish clients are only interested in what he can do for them. They never bother to ask about his own troubles, but rely on him to to fix their own. They pine for his healing touch, hope for an erotic encounter, and dump their domestic complaints on him. Zhenia remains mostly impassive as he listens to their woes. Although somewhat obnoxious, the residents contribute to the film’s social satire. The first client we meet is a frazzled, privileged mother who boozes her way through the day to cope with the chaos of her children and the messy remnants of an old birthday party. She seeks solace and appreciation from Zhenia to lessen the blow of her children’s rude antics and husband’s distant attitude. Another client seems to be engaged in a drug scheme with her chemistry wiz son and fights to save the neighbouring lot’s trees because she buried her deceased husband there. One woman requests that Zhenia massage her dog in a hilarious sequence that tests Zhenia’s impassive resolve. The community’s cookie-cutter mansions are laid out in a neat grid within the private gated community, which a security guard haphazardly patrols on his segway. A second guard invites Zhenia to drink with him in the guardhouse. Through it all, Zhenia remains a largely stoic and enigmatic figure.
The residents become more dependant on Zhenia as he immerses himself deeper into their lives and their minds. His hypnosis sends them into the depths of the same green misty forest from which we saw Zhenia emerge, adding further fantastical layers to the film’s world. While his clients are under hypnosis, Zhenia wanders through their houses, ballet dancing and riffling through their fancy clothes. When he’s not with them, his clients are peeping through their curtains to catch glimpses of Zhenia, stoking their jealousy and self-doubt in the process. Meanwhile, the only personal connection to the community Zhenia seems to make is with Wika (Weronika Rosati), a cancer-stricken client’s wife. The community’s obsession with Zhenia comes to a head at a school performance, where Wika convinces Zhenia to take part in a magic show that leaves everyone—including the viewer—more mystified than ever.
The cinematography and score evoke a folkloric tale, at times whimsical and spooky, dark and satirical. While the film’s psychological and fantastical narrative elements are not explored to their fullest, and it seems almost too fleeting a story at times, we nevertheless feel the effects of the film’s magic touch. Never Gonna Snow Again makes its New York premiere as part of BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music)’s Kino Polska film series, which runs April 30 – May 6.
Score: B
© 2021. UniversalCinema Mag.