How I Ended This Summer review

A Russian tale of human fallibility, veteran Sergei (Sergei Puskepalis) and inexperienced graduate Pavel (Grigory Dobrygin) are meteorologists stationed on an Arctic Ocean island.

While there to record radioactivity levels, in this forbidding environ, their relationship soon fatefully deteriorates.

Written and directed by Aleksei Popogrebsky, Summer doesn’t need to strain for allegorical significance, as it grips on its own terms.

The polar landscapes and fluctuating weather are superbly shot, while there are compelling turns from the two actors, who bravely perform their own stunts.