Comment j'ai passé l'été

Two men man an isolated weather station in the Arctic circle. Sergei is older and experienced with a wife and son at home. Pavel is young and bored, resentful of Sergei's dominance yet dependent on it. Into this already tense environment comes the news that Sergei's wife and son were badly injured in an accident. Pavel receives the message while Sergei is out fishing. Because of the way things play out, Pavel doesn't deliver the message right away; as the opportune moment passes him by, it becomes harder and harder to tell Sergei even while the direness of his screw up becomes more and more obvious. Eventually, hostilities boil over and Pavel's paranoia reaches such a crescendo that he takes off into the wilderness on a self-imposed cat and mouse chase, convinced that Sergei wants to kill him.

It's almost ludicrous that something that really is at heart pretty banal (failing to deliver a message, even if that message is very serious) could trigger events that reach the conclusion they do (I won't spoil it, but the end to this movie is grim, folks). But the movie is so well made and acted that everything is entirely plausible, and it's easy to see how distrust can so easily grow when given the right conditions.

My understanding is that both actors won German film prizes for their work, and no wonder. Until the final scene, not another human being appears, and it falls to the two of them to hold our attention with nothing more than a stark if beautiful landscape to act against.

Well hold it they do.

Grade: A

It is a small travesty that more films like this from across the pond don't get a wider audience (I think the only reason this has managed to get a UK release was the fact that it won Best Film at the BFI London Film Festival). But this small gem has managed to escape obscurity and has now been given a cinema release so that everyone can enjoy this small gem.

First, may I state the following: this is not a thriller! Please do not start watching this film expecting Russia's interpretation of Hitchcock - you will be sorely disappointed! The film itself has relatively little in terms of plot - a fact that another reviewer has (unfairly) criticised it for. Instead, what we receive as viewers is a quietly poignant, at times almost meditative exploration of isolation and the tensions that arise between the two leading characters in the vast, sparse, beautiful terrain of the Arctic in which they work.

As the film develops, the suspense certainly mounts, and at one point, a tense cat and mouse chase does develop. Indeed, it is not only themselves, but their surroundings which they have to tread carefully around - sinister hints about a deserted house on a cliff top and the danger posed by polar bears play their role. But don't try and second guess the film, because above all, this is a truly understated, moving exploration of human fragility rather than an action flick. The ending made me smile in surprise, and I felt ashamed at how cynically I had felt that I knew where the film was going. You will never see an ending as mature as this coming from Hollywood.

I won't bother with a plot summary - the one provided by IMDb is more than sufficient. What I will say is that both the acting and the cinematography are superb. The two leads both do wonderful jobs in which the performances require far more than the confines of the dialogue - so much of this film takes place in silence, and both men tackle their parts with great success. Then there is the cinematography - it has been a while since I have seen such beautiful images come together to create such an atmosphere of isolation and buried tension. The vast, beautiful landscape, the pale blue skies, the gentle lull of the sea, the calm glassy lakes, the dark, imposing cliffs, and then the intermittent fog... postcards could be made using some of these images. The effect is perfect.

In short, this is definitely worth the watch, and it's one to look out for in 2011!

Unsatisfying. Inexplicable characters and plot. Watch it for the scenery only.

I have never watched a Russian film before and I was not sure what I was going to be in for with this film, but I was pleasantly surprised! The story line is fresh, simple but very effective, it is filmed well and the music/sound is very well done to really give this particular feel to my first watched Russian film.

Hollywood could pick this film up, change a few things to the story line, add a few well known actors in the mix and they would have a winner on their hands, Hollywood has been doing it for years, but damn I hope they don't do it with this film, as I think it is great the way it is.

Give it a go, no special effects, no blood and guts, just a good solid drama, with great decor to boot! 8 out of 10

How i ended this summer was the winner of the 2010 London film festival award and it also won many other awards from around the world and quite rightly so in my opinion.

Two men of different generations , who work on a an Arctic weather station , come to blows when the younger man has to tell his colleague of a family tragedy but fears the consequences of telling him.

This film will not appeal to everyone. It's a Russian film directed by Aleksei Popogrebsky and although subtitled , does not really depend on a large amount of dialogue to tell the story.

It starts of at a slow pace and as the film progresses , the tension builds to the point that it gets the viewer angry as to the decisions that are being made. Why doesn't the young man tell his elder the news? Is he really that scared of him? What will happen when he finds out?

This is a film about human relationships and vulnerability .

Apart from the tense story , it looks superb too and i only hope lots of people give this film a chance because they wont regret it.