Leto
2018 · Directed by Kirill Serebrennikov
Original language: Russian
- music
- drama
The story
Leningrad, one summer in the early eighties. Smuggling LPs by Lou Reed and David Bowie, the underground rock scene is boiling ahead of the Perestroika. Mike and his beautiful wife Natasha meet with young Viktor Tsoi. Together with friends, they will change the destiny of rock’n’roll in the Soviet Union.
What it’s like
Sun-washed black and white broken by sudden bursts of saturated color, most often when a song takes over the room. Handheld camera drifts through cramped Leningrad kitchens, crowded rehearsal basements and open summer parks, and the grain feels like a hot, dusty city in July. Animated doodles and pencil-sketch flourishes scratch across the frame, giving the film a lively, restless surface. The soundtrack is raw guitar rock, Russian and Western, played loud and often in full, so the rhythm of the film follows the rhythm of the band's practice sessions and parties. The vibe is wry, bittersweet and warm, with an undercurrent of youthful defiance. Its three central people drift through a shifting, flirtatious and tender tangle, slowly testing what freedom and loyalty mean. Intensity is moderate: nudity and sexual scenes are frank but not explosive, drinking and smoking are constant, and there is little physical violence and no gore. It suits a late summer night, a comfort rewatch with the volume up, or anyone who loves music films about small rooms and big dreams.
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