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How I Ended This Summer AKA Kak ya provyol etim letom (Blu-ray)
[Blu-ray]
Blu-ray B - United Kingdom - New Wave Films Review written by and copyright: Samuel Scott (12th May 2013). |
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The Film
 ***This is a technical review only. For reviews on the show from various critics, we recommend visiting HERE.*** Winner of two Silver Bears at the Berlin Film festival for its actors and photography, and of the Best Film award in the 2010 London Film Festival, the film is set on a remote weather station in the Arctic manned by old hand Sergei and the novice Pavel. When Pavel receives an important radio message, his fear of the older man prevents him telling Sergei the shocking news. From this decption, 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. Filmed entirely on location in one of the remotest places in the world, HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER becomes a stunning existential drama of survival.
Video
 New Wave Films release "How I Ended This Summer AKA Kak ya provyol etim letom" in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1 and it has received an AVC-MPEG 4 encode. Some may be put off by the fact it is 1080i/50, but you really shouldn't be - the usual problems inherent with interlaced transfers don't noticeably rear their head here.
The remoteness and the landscapes in the film are extremely bleak, and the picture quality really captures this feel. The endless panning shots are detailed and don't suffer from any sort of judder - with contrast consistent throughout. There are some very minor compression issues, but I was generally impressed. Skintones and facial close-ups look perfect with every contour and blemish on the faces of the two characters looking sharp and crisp at all times. I noticed no edge enhancement, aliasing, crushing or banding at all during the feature, and as to be expected for such a new movie, there were no problems with artifacting, scratches or dust. The sharp detail leads me to also believe there was no digital noise reduction either. This is in the top 10% blu-rays I have seen for picture quality.
Audio
The case incorrectly states a Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is present. What we actually have available on the disc is: - Russian DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 - Russian LPCM 2.0 Stereo I chose to view the movie using the DTS-HD Master Audio option. Because of the remoteness of the locations and the general sound design, it is quite an uneventful track, yet the subtleness of the wind and animal noises are perfectly fitting, as is the score by Dmitriy Katkhanov which is as immersive as can be whilst still making the viewer feel they are alone, just like the characters. There are no signs of damage to the audio track such as scratches or dropouts, and all dialogue sounds as crisp as one would expect. English subtitles are optional, white in colour and easy to follow. My only gripe was that they picked quite a large size, though it doesn't intrude on anything happening in the film.
Extras
The main extra here is the BFI Southbank Q&A session with writer-director Aleksey Popogrebskiy chaired by Ian Christie (40:58). The first half is more of a discussion between Christie and Popogrebskiy about the direction of Russian cinema in general, the problems Popogrebskiy came across during pre-production/production/post-production and the difficulties he endured due to the remote locations of filming. The second half of the extras has the audience fielding questions. Popogrebskiy speaks English throughout the session and he is easy to understand. The other extra is a theatrical trailer (2:25).
Overall
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