Rock bands didn’t have many opportunities for performances in the USSR. The Leningrad Rock Club was an exception – under the watchful eyes of the state, of course.
Also present is Mike Naumenko, who with his band Zoopark formed the spearhead of a punk rock guild that was forming with other groups such as Kino, which generated hope for a better future underground in the Soviet Union.
“Leto” by director Kiril Serebrennikov tells the story of this movement through a group of young people in their twenties who identify with and become infected with David Bowie and Co. and thus keep the desire for freedom (and thus the tearing down of state borders) alive . The film focuses on the relationship between musicians Viktor and Mike, which quickly changes when Viktor falls for Mike’s wife Natasha.
With nostalgic black and white images and a collage aesthetic that also contains animated film sequences, Serebrennikov succeeds in taking a very intimate look at the early 1980s in the USSR, whereby it becomes clear here that every private moment also has a political dimension.
The director was arrested and placed under house arrest for alleged fraud during filming, but still managed to complete the film in 2018. The Putin regime is scorned by Serebrennikov’s subversive energy. His projects are exposed to permanent state repression.
“Leto” – Monday, May 30 at 9:40 p.m. on arte. From May 30th to June 28th in the stream in the arte media library.