How I Ended This Summer

A deserted island in the Arctic Ocean. There is a meteorological station there and two men work at it. Sergei has been here for years; he takes the readings on schedule, reports them by radio and follows the rules to the letter. Pavel has just left university; he came for a placement and does not take the work seriously. Sergei goes fishing and is away for a few days. In that time a message comes over the radio; it concerns Sergei's family and it is very bad. Pavel has to pass it on. He cannot. Then he is late. Then he has to lie. Alexey Popogrebsky writes and directs. Grigoriy Dobrygin and Sergey Puskepalis are in the cast. It is a Russian production. The film won best actor at the Berlin Film Festival for both performers and a separate award for its cinematography. It was shot at a real polar station in Chukotka; the crew stayed there for months. The tension it builds is a piece of information that cannot be said; as relations between the two break down the matter grows. The narrative uses almost no music; the sound design rests on wind and machinery. The landscape works inside the narrative; the island is like a closed room with nowhere to go. There is a radioactive source in the film and the narrative uses it as an element of threat. Its limit is pace; the narrative is very slow and there is little event. Who it is for: viewers who like Russian cinema and two hander thrillers. Who it is not for: it is very slow, there is little speech, and the ending uncertain.