Karry Best movie of this year hands down!

BelSports This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

Jonah Abbott There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

ronchow As some reviewers have pointed out, the title of the film is irrelevant to the story being told. That's problem number one. The other problem I have is the story based on the interaction of two men from two generations is just not very credible. Why would Pavel choose to create all the problems for himself? Apart from these faults, it is a watchable film. You are treated to some unusual Arctic landscape, and given a taste of what life would be like living in that part of the world, in total isolation from the rest of civilization and conducting repetitive tasks. Even in summer, that part of Arctic can still be harsh and dangerous. The acting by the two actors was pretty solid and camera work good.So don't get me wrong. This film is still a good example of contemporary Russian cinema, cinema not based on sex, killings, CGI or a fat budget. The difference between the generations - one of duty and devotion to work, and the other less so and distracted by video games and loud music - was well explored. It just could have been a much better human drama if the storyline was more credible.

scoup Landscape is beautiful and desolate sometimes mimicking life.Pasha/Pavel and Gulybin/Sergey are two researchers working alone for a lengthy period in the Arctic. Each is from a different generation and assumingly socioeconomic background. When terrible news comes across the radio, the younger Pasha is afraid to tell the older more domineering Gulybin. The longer he waits the worse things become.Overall this is a very good movie with a couple small problems. In one scene it is unclear whether or not Sergey received the message during a solo radio call later and pretended he did not. If this was not the case, then it seems a little odd that no one would mention their condolences at some point to this man. I kept wondering why they would hang fish out to dry for two reasons - won't they freeze leaving the salt unable work, and wouldn't it attract birds or bears??? Maybe about 10-20 minutes too long because it did slow down a bit at the end.

jamesmartin1995 It is a small travesty that more films like this from across the pond don't get a wider audience (I think the only reason this has managed to get a UK release was the fact that it won Best Film at the BFI London Film Festival). But this small gem has managed to escape obscurity and has now been given a cinema release so that everyone can enjoy this small gem.First, may I state the following: this is not a thriller! Please do not start watching this film expecting Russia's interpretation of Hitchcock - you will be sorely disappointed! The film itself has relatively little in terms of plot - a fact that another reviewer has (unfairly) criticised it for. Instead, what we receive as viewers is a quietly poignant, at times almost meditative exploration of isolation and the tensions that arise between the two leading characters in the vast, sparse, beautiful terrain of the Arctic in which they work.As the film develops, the suspense certainly mounts, and at one point, a tense cat and mouse chase does develop. Indeed, it is not only themselves, but their surroundings which they have to tread carefully around - sinister hints about a deserted house on a cliff top and the danger posed by polar bears play their role. But don't try and second guess the film, because above all, this is a truly understated, moving exploration of human fragility rather than an action flick. The ending made me smile in surprise, and I felt ashamed at how cynically I had felt that I knew where the film was going. You will never see an ending as mature as this coming from Hollywood.I won't bother with a plot summary - the one provided by IMDb is more than sufficient. What I will say is that both the acting and the cinematography are superb. The two leads both do wonderful jobs in which the performances require far more than the confines of the dialogue - so much of this film takes place in silence, and both men tackle their parts with great success. Then there is the cinematography - it has been a while since I have seen such beautiful images come together to create such an atmosphere of isolation and buried tension. The vast, beautiful landscape, the pale blue skies, the gentle lull of the sea, the calm glassy lakes, the dark, imposing cliffs, and then the intermittent fog... postcards could be made using some of these images. The effect is perfect.In short, this is definitely worth the watch, and it's one to look out for in 2011!

trof22 "Kak ya provyol etim letom" (Russian title contains intentional misspell-pin and should be read "How I Cheated (somebody) Last Summer", not just this school-like "How I Spent Last Summer", chosen for foreign version) is a Russian psychological drama about two meteorologists, the old, Sergei, and the young, Pavel, who get stuck on an isolated polar station for a regular season work and have to deal with each other ...and the information, that arrives from the "big earth".Visually and stylistically film is flawless. Cinematography with it's slow-pacing, static long shots and scenic wild nature shots is adorable. Atmosphere, when time seems ticking slower and cold wind awaits for you from another side of the door, is on the good level too. And as a native-speaker, I can say that dialogue-lines are also pretty decent. Polar station as a place is just a cause for examination of human communication (so-called "chemistry") in isolated space. Subject deals with responsibility, instinct of self-preservation, influence of isolated space to human psychics and importance of experience. I don't want to spoil your first-time-watching, so I won't go into plot any further...Can't name any similarities. Maybe the closest will be: "Breaking the Waves" meets "Gerry" and "Shutter Island" (no delusions here, similarity is geographical) along with Russian "Dikoe Pole" (2008) and maybe even "Kukushka" (2002). Plus some Michael Haneke's style (like from most recently - though black and white - "Das Weisse Band" with it's distant human behavior examination). In my opinion, "Kak ya provyol etim letom" is one of the best Russian movies of the decade (2000-2010) along with Alexei Balabanov's "Gruz 200", "Morfiy" and above-mentioned Alexander Rogozhkin's "Kukushka". And yes, it is way better than Zvyagintsev's pretentious force-fed Tarkovsky-styled issues "Vozvraschenie" & "Izgnanie".Don't know how soon those of you who don't speak Russian will be available to watch this with subtitles or voice-over...So, if you're often bored with 2-hour non-action movies - don't bother watching this. Try something more entertaining. But if you're into slow-paced minimalistic psychological dramas, give it a try. You'll be aesthetically rewarded.8-8,5\10.