Film: How I Ended This Summer/The Kids Are All Right

LFF comes to a close (for me at least, considering I'm neither successful nor desperate enough to get tickets for the gala screenings this weekend) with these two very different films. I will be swift I think with these, as I'm getting tired of typing such lengthy prose merely to give either a thumbs up or a thumbs down (or, let's be honest, a fair few thumbs in the middle) to a film...

HOW I ENDED THIS SUMMER is a sparse and slow, yet surprisingly suspenseful story set in the unforgiving Arctic, where two Russian fellas are stationed in a decrepit weather research station, measuring radiation levels. When the younger of the two men, on work experience and a childish fool in the eyes of his surly supervisor, receives the delicate news that the family of his boss have tragically died, he makes the strange decision to with-hold the information from his counterpart.

The secret-keeping continues, the chilling intensity and isolation of their barren surroundings only helping to heighten the tension between the two men, until the truth eventually escapes and the younger man is forced to flee for his life into the ice-cold wilderness, lest he be shot. At this point the film resembles something like a cross between The Road and Apocalypto, as the young boy has to scramble for food and shelter in the most inhospitable of terrains whilst being hunted down by the only other man for miles.

Though tenuous at times, the plot does turn at the right points, and supports both character and action well despite a restrictively (or is it liberatingly?) barren setting. Very tense, very taught, but also frequently touching and witty, the director, Alexei Popogrebsky, has found some great performances by Grigoriy Dobrygin and Sergei Puskepalis as Pavel and Sergei, as well as some good cinematography and punchy music, but it is the film's location that guides the plot, tone and drama of the story. A very smart and able showing indeed.

HOWEVER. My award for film of the fest just has to go to THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT, a brilliantly touching, dramatic, witty and original take on the marital drama. Lisa Cholodenko directs a stellar cast to inject a vibrant wit and charm and heart into the story of a lesbian wife and, well, wife (played by Annette Benning and Julianne Moore) whose two children seek out their sperm donor father (played by Mark Ruffalo).

Upon this man's arrival though (in all of his organic, free love, motorcycle riding glory), the family dynamic is grossly disrupted, and previously comfortable notions of love, loyalty, sexuality and motherhood are put to the test. Benning and Moore are superb as the married couple that drive the story, and bring an intoxicating charm and naturalism to the central relationship. Ruffalo is excellent as the free-spirited but ultimately destructive figure who interrupts our protagonists' lives, and Mia Wasikowska and Josh Hutcherson offer ample support as the confused, somewhat angsty, children.

There are moments of contriteness, especially surrounding the younger figures and their teen problems ("oh man, my dude friend with his skateboard is a bit of a douche but I don't know if he's a douche, but he is a douche..."), and there are some slightly uneasy references to popular culture that will always, no matter who they're directed by, seem ill-fitting and desperate, but overall this a film that avoids gay cliche sensibly and is instead a universally affecting, funny, heart-warming and original take on the myriad difficulties of family life. My hope is that it will be a huge success at the box office, and that Annette Benning in particular receives awards recognition for her superb performance.

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