This is How Movies Should Be Made

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Blistering performances.

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

Pavel Danilov is a college student spending the summer at an isolated polar weather station on a deserted Arctic island. Sergei Gulybin is the gruff, unfriendly, seasoned meteorologist operating the station. Pavel spends his time playing video games. The work is monotonous. While Sergei is away on a fishing trip, Pavel receives a message on the radio. Sergei's wife and son have been hospitalized from an accident. The situation unfolds where Pavel becomes more and more unwilling to relay the message to Sergei.I just can't understand why Danilov doesn't tell Gulybin the news. As the situation spirals out of control, the less I believe in the story. It's literally a 3's Company sitcom misunderstand turning into the most dire Hitchcockian thriller. I don't understand slacker Pavel and I don't find him appealing. The movie is too long anyways.

Russian screenwriter, trained psychologist and director Alexei Popogrebsky's third feature film which he also wrote the screenplay for, premiered In competition at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival in 2010, was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 35th Toronto International Film Festival in 2010, was shot entirely on location at the Valkarkay polar station in the Chuckchi Sea in Arctic Russia and is a Russian production which was produced by producers Roman Borisevich and Alexandr Kushaev. It tells the story about a middle-aged Russian man named Sergei Vitalievich Gulybin and his younger novice named Pavel Danilov who are stationed at a remote weather station in the Arctic. The two men have a good relationship, but when Pavel receives a message from the State Meteorological Network about Sergei's wife and son being sent to hospital in a severe condition, it frightens him and he chooses not to tell Sergei in fear of his own life.Distinctly and lyrically directed by Russian filmmaker Alexei Popogrebsky, this quietly paced, subtle and visually remarkable fictional tale about human relations, friendship and survival in a wide and isolated Arctic landscape where the trust between two men from different generations is put on a test, is driven by it's significant and captivating atmosphere which is accentuated by the efficient use of sound and the noticeable cinematography by cinematographer Pavel Kostomarov. While shifting between an examination of the relationship between human beings and their milieu and a kind of chamber-piece, this acute depiction of two internal studies of character gradually evolves into a psychological battle between two converging minds which envisages the distinction and correlation between trust and fear. This heartily, humorous, existentialistic and consistently engaging drama from the late 2000s which set in a majestic landscape close to the sea where only two human beings are living and are as drawn away from each other as they are drawn towards each other, is impelled and reinforced by it's loose narrative structure, substantial character development, subtle continuity, silent and cinematographic moments, graceful aura and the substantial acting performances by Russian actors Grigoriy Dobrygin and Sergei Puskepalis as the weathered main characters. A reflective, humane and gripping independent film which gained, among several other awards, the Silver Bear for Best Actor Grigoriy Dobrygin and Sergei Puskepalis and was nominated for the Golden Bear at the 60th Berlin Film Festival in 2010.

Having watched this movie on a flight I am going to steer clear of commenting on what appeared to be some amazing cinematography.With a sparse cast and a sparse setting this films works hard on the subtleties and isolation of the main characters. The monotony, the boredom, the sense of duty and the age old story of the older experienced man and the younger upstart who doesn't appreciate the ways of old.Grigoriy Dobrygin as Pasha is incredible in delivering the essence and fundamentals of the story. What makes this movie thrilling and scary at the same time is that, in such isolation, everything that could possibly scare you in such a situation is explored or alluded to so you never know what could happen because anything could happen. Within this context an important message is received Without spoiling the movie, one could say that we cannot control how people react to things anymore than we can control nature itself. And sometimes to try and prevent bad things happening can be the worst choice but it is always the human choice.The script is extremely tight and though the dialogue is somewhat monosyllabic and sparse it all adds to the tension, (and makes it easier if you are not watching it in Russian and dislike subtitles) I cannot imagine how a movie as good as this could ever be made in Hollywood. Where, for example, someones expressions alone could take up 5 minutes of film and still have you on the edge of your seat. Even Hitchcock would have learned a lot from the art of suspense after watching this movie.