The Russian psychological thriller “How I Ended This Summer” might also be called “An Odd Couple in Siberia.” This particular twosome consists of the gruff 50- something Sergei and the college-age Pavel.
They live alone on an island in frigid northeast Siberia, where they man a weather station, sending back daily reports to their headquarters.
Sergei is devoted to his job; Pavel takes a more lackadaisical approach. The different mindsets have to do with a generational gap, and cause their share of friction.
The older man, who is devoted to his wife and infant son back on the mainland, barks orders and slaps Pavel around.
His colleague mostly does what he’s told, and copes by listening to music on his MP3 player and playing violent video games.
The first half of the film, written and directed by Alexei Popogrebsky, moves slowly as it concentrates on the protagonists’ head games.
Just when you think that nothing more is going to happen, all hell breaks loose in the form of a deadly game of cat and mouse.
Sergei Puskepalis (Sergei) and Grigory Dobrygin (Pavel) give powerful performances, but the real star is Mother Nature — her fury and her beauty, which cinematographer Pavel Kostomarov breathtakingly captures with his hand-held camera.