Dear God this is terrible, just awful. A gay love story set amidst the Russian armed forces during the Cold War, this should have been full of clandestine hookups, oppressive scenes and a context laden with KGB oppression but it’s only ever hinted at through intercepted letters and a particularly nasty major. Tom Prior’s Sergey and Oleg Zagorodnii’s Roman never seem especially troubled, and the former (also co-writer) delivers a statuesque performance (matched by far too much of the cast), and is never really believable despite the earnestness. The doomed lovers are likeable but only superficially engaging and the thin script pays far too little attention to Diana Pozharskaya’s Luisa, leaving the film oddly imbalanced and far too long. I loved the location shoot, and it’s a great story but without confident direction it’s a massive missed opportunity for a true story with so much cinematic potential.