a film by Alexei Popogrebsky
A polar station on a desolate island in the Arctic Ocean. Sergei Gulybin, a seasoned meteorologist, and Pavel Danilov, a recent college graduate, are spending months in complete isolation on the once strategic research base. Their daily routine consists of recording and processing meteorological data which they submit at timed intervals by radio to a control centre – their sole contact with the rest of the world. They also have to monitor the now dangerously high level of gamma radiation being emitted by the old radioisotope thermoelectric generator, or RTG, still in use as a power source for the nearby navigation beacon.
Pavel receives an important radio message when Sergei is away on a fishing trip, but while he tries to find the right moment to tell him, his innate fear of the older man prevents him passing on the shocking news. From this deception, lies and suspicions poison relations between the two to such an extent that Pavel is in fear of his life, not just from the polar bears that roam the island, but from Sergei.
With the atmosphere of isolation and buried tension between the two very different characters
we see how distrust can so easily grow when given the right conditions. Pavel is young, bored and resentful of Sergei's dominance yet dependent on it. Sergei has spent a great many years in service at the station and cannot accept Pavel's perceived lack of commitment and acknowledgement of his own lifetime's work. In an environment and situation which is so unpredictable, and in which anything could happen, we cannot control how people react to things – and sometimes trying to prevent bad things from happening can be the worst choice, even though it is often the choice that most people will make.
A slow-paced minimalistic psychological drama exploring themes of responsibility, generational conflict, human fragility and self-preservation. Shot entirely on location in one of the remotest and bleakest places in the world, with a striking emphasis on both sound and image. This outstanding and award-winning film becomes a stunning existential tale of survival as the two men are forced to form a relationship of trust and, ultimately, forgiveness in the desolate Russian Arctic.
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