"how i ended this summer," russia, dir. alexei popogrebsky
a psychological thriller set on an arctic russian island seemed to have an unignorable boring potential. i asked the volunteer checking tickets outside the theater if she'd been at either of the two previous screenings and whether i should gamble on the iranian film in the theater across the corridor instead. she hadn't seen "how i ended this summer," but had read a good review. "and you know, this is a film festival," she cautioned me, as if that were license for any thriller screening to be dull so long as it had been praised for being contemplative and insightful. thankfully, "how i ended this summer" passed muster in all categories. two men are isolated at an isolated island taking meteorological readouts that they regularly radio to the mainland. summer is almost over, and the younger of the men, pavel, is scheduled to return to the mainland soon. his middle aged workmate has taken readings at the island for years and is anxious to take leave to see his wife, who was evacuated from the island when she became pregnant two years prior. mistakes and misunderstandings. then fear, and a chase. man versus man and man versus nature. "how i ended the summer" doesn't skimp at all on suspense, but it also isn't a run of the mill cliffhanger. (this is a film festival, after all.) the deceptions are nerve wracking and the chase is exciting, but the real tension of "how i ended this summer" is in pavel's head as he struggles to face the responsibilities of adulthood and the emotional demands of maturity. and a polar bear.
"some days are better than others," united states, dir. matt mccormick
carrie brownstein and a portland connection? didn't we just go through this? we did, and that's why i didn't go to this screening, even though it was the only one scheduled for this film during the festival. if "some days are better than others" likes portland enough, it will come out on dvd, although user rankings at imdb.com don't bode well for distribution.
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