Hipsters / Stilyagi

Valeriy Todorovskiy:
Hipsters / Stilyagi (Russia, 2008)
125 min. - Russian - English subtitles
K-15

Hipsters is a wonderfully arbitrary package. Valeriy Todorovsky�€�s film is a colourful musical that tells about the life restricted by the Communist Party in Soviet Moscow. It has won numerous awards and gained mass popularity in Russia but has not found its way to Western Europe quite yet, so you don't want to miss the chance of seeing it here! This charmingly hilarious depiction of Soviet Russia in the 1950s is a must-see.

Hipsters is a traditional musical: it is the love story of two people from different backgrounds. Mels (Anton Shagin) is a supporter of the Communist Party to whom his uniform is like a second skin. Polzka (Oksana Akinshina, known for her role in Lilja 4-ever) is a dandy, a USA-admiring jazz lover who rebels against the suffocating Soviet order with her clothing and way of life. Despite its theme Hipsters is not a strongly political film. The contrast between communal kitchens and albums bought on the black market and the superbly energetic and playfully colourful filming is delicious. The dance scenes and appearances are clearly a result of a lot of work and effort. The amazingly visual world of Hipsters reminds of Tim Burton's films and the exaggerated colourfulness of Moulin Rouge, but with a Soviet twist.

In all its cheerfulness and unpolitical spirit Hipsters can also be interpreted as a film with a message.Todorovsky quite straightforwardly critisises the Communist Party's politics of uniformity but also challenges Russia's present governing. During the last scene of the film it is impossible not to think about the status of sexual minorities in Russia. If the dandies in the film were replaced by the gay community, the film would be explosive there. On the whole, Hipsters is an ode to the innocent youth and respect of divergence.

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Hipsters

Sun 21st Nov at 3:30pm at Tapio 3