Movie review: Black and white Russian rockpoesi in the vibrating Leto

Leningrad. Nineteen-eighties. A vibrant, partly secret music scene energized by the locktonerna from the west, and challenges the Brezjnevs harsh regime. Records with The Beatles, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Talking Heads and T. Rex is the currency. Glamrocken, punk and synthpop are vying for attention.

Much revolves around the charismatic frontman ”Mike” in the garagepunkiga the band Zoopark, and his beautiful wife Natalia. They are stars in a world where the soviet gray of everyday life fought with the ferocious concerts and hot parties.

A dreamy day at the beach (the Russian title means summer) shows the young Victor up with his guitar, his stylishly uppklippta hair and their own poetic songs. A new, cool crown prince is born, and Natalia gets hard to keep your fingers and emotions in control.

to realize themselves in ”Leto”, no one to see no change despite the fact that the Soviet union's collapse, in fact, already lurking around the corner. ”Anything can happen. Army, children, alcoholism...,” reads one of the most poignant replikskiftena in the film when some musician is called in to forced in the road to what was then the war in Afghanistan.

the Director Kirill Serebrennikov was imprisoned 2017 on suspicion of fraud and managed to heroically enough to compile his film despite the fact that he sat in house arrest (which he still does). Neither did he follow the ”Leto” to Cannes, where it competed for the palme d'or last year, which perhaps also contributed to the romantic shimmer around the movie and the undergroundkultur it portrays. A narrative which of course fits just as well in the day, when the Putin regime to deal at least as hard on dissidents and Russia's shadow fall over the world again.

Read more about Kirill Serebrennikovs situation

”Leto” follows on from the successful black and white trend and settles berättarmässigt and variety of individual somewhere between the ”Cold war” and ”Control”.

All does not look as sleek on the Serebrennikovs historiography. Several of the real protagonists behind the film's characters went away early, including the rebellious kultfiguren Viktor Tsoï in the band Kino, who died tragically in a car accident back in 1990. But there are other voices from the time who apparently do not recognize themselves in the ”Leto” and who think that the film trivialize and romantiserar era.

The criticism is difficult to assess. It is much easier to say that ”Leto”, as the fiction considered, is a delightful piece of passionate film narrative, which switches seamlessly between the heather gray realism and imaginative, childish, poetic animations.

the strong sphere of influence around the passionate trio in the centre. The Korean operator Teo Yoo is exquisite in the role of the knocks knopp knot knots knotted rockpoeten Viktor Tsoï, Irina Starshenbaum plays the indecisive toddlers mother Natalia with a strong presence and Roman Bilyk, yourself rock, has a somewhat outstanding charisma and looks like a young Serge Gainsbourg in the role of Mike Naumenko.

”Leto” follows on from the successful black and white trend and settles berättarmässigt and variety of individual somewhere between the ”Cold war” and ”Control” (about Ian Curtis of Joy Division). This is the same undergångsromantik, the same notion of love and rebellion are two sides of the same coin, the same bittersweet feeling that time is measured out. Just a little lekfullare.

Serebrennikov kidding all the time with the story, breaks up the events, rise in the road, slopes back in a frolicsome mixture of grim merriment. Passionate rockromantik from the east which you certainly not seen before.

See more. Three other movies of Kirill Serebrennikov: ”Yuri's day” (2008), ”Izmena” (”Betrayal”, 2012) and ”(M)uchenik” (”The student”, 2016).

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