Wednesday, October 19, 2011
ENDING
Today, I finished the Russian film, a NYTimes Critics' Pick
Kak ya provel etim letom / How I Ended My Summer (2010)
An old line self sacrificing veteran and a short term intern share the responsibility of caretaking an outlying weather station which is about to close down.
Old and new Russia. There are wide differences. The relationship is not good.
When bad news comes in for the older guy, the younger one forgets and then is afraid to tell him about it.
Thus begins a run of paranoia. Isolation. Midnight suns. Polar bears.
Finally anger erupts.
The location is a place where life is so fragile that the barest departure from procedure could be fatal. It is a nuke powered station. The elements are unforgiving.
Psychological thriller. What would I do? We always place ourselves in these situations.
It didn't seem to matter that I cut it in half. But to sit through the whole thing end to end would have to be a more agitating experience.
I liked it a lot and would be willing to see it again. It won two German "oscars" for both actors. Nice.
I will give it a 4 out of Netflix5.
Labels: films
