Leto

I've not posted for a while, life taking a huge dip lately and i've been busy with other stuff. No idea what to start with, i had been listening to bands from the Eastern bloc. Then switched to Thrash metal and listened to Shah's Beware album (1989) and E. S. T. Electro Shock Therapy (1989). I was going back and forth and played classic rock bands from the Soviet. I remembered Serebrennikov's movie but was not able to recollect the name. I looked it up and it put me in a good zone after all the music, I watched it twice!

The movie is a portrait of Leningrad's underground music scene of the early 1980s - shot in moody monochrome, loosely based on Kino frontman Viktor Tsoi ( the Marc Bolan of Russia back in those days) with an interesting story of keeping the flame alive in the declining scene (who would not like to know what was being a rock star in the Soviet Union in the 80's ?) It is beautifully shot, a perfect ode to the youth and rock in Soviet Russia, which also contains the immortal line: "This is Natasha, she really loves tomatoes". Kirill Serebrennikov has put his sweat, blood and tears and completed the project while he was under house arrest and it triggered backlash from the public when he was denied permission to attend the cremation of his mother by the court.

I would definitely say that I'm a big fan of Serebrennikov films and his vision for Leto is so passionate and poetic that you feel you're part of the era amidst the turmoil and what it really felt like listening to rock music in the 80s featuring music by T-Rex, Talking Heads, Iggy Pop, Lou Reed, Bowie, Blondie & more. There are filmmakers who have contributed to this genre, but Serebrennikov is one of the handful to have succeeded in this initiative of linking music to political protest.

This movie has a soul. One could write about Soviet (harsh) realities, but I won't. I was surprised, when an elderly pair (looked like 70+) arrived to watch the film - even some of 50+ Russian folks would criticize what is shown (but I hope they have their right not to watch it). For a younger people, this will be a good example to have a glimpse on Soviet life of 1980s. Takes a very talented director to make the actors act like this. I've got several recalls of "Assa" (one of the best movies of late 1980s), but this has got its own charms. So, I definitely recommend this one to watch. At least, for the memory of those, whom we loved.

This film is nothing short of an electrifying experience.

I was skeptic to begin with. This, I can tell you right off the bat, was a huge mistake. When the actual film started, I immediately forgot about anything outside the screen. It was like a time travel deluxe package. I speak as someone who is a half European, half Russian Gen Z. I never experienced the Soviet era on first hand, but the night I went to watch this film, I forgot the current year. They're writing 2019 now, you say...? Ha ha, but really. Intense and during certain points in the film, I even got chills.

If you've ever heard about "breaking the 4th wall" as a filmography term, well, get excited because this is exactly what happens a lot. The end result is that you feel like you physically *are* present, and thus incredibly difficult for you to not feel connected in some manner.

The special effects are incredible, and the relationship between black and white/colour splashes in the film is something I've hardly ever seen before. This is fantastic.

One of the points about the film which made me skeptic to begin with was the "love triangle" ordeal in the bio. "Love triangle"? I thought. "Oh my, this has been done to death already!" I was fearing Twilight-esque cliché onto cliché, but nothing like it was to be found at all. It felt humane and raw... original. Not cliché.

If you have Russian roots somehow or have studied Russian, it's hard not to enjoy this film. If you've been in the Soviet regime yourself, you might get very touched/cry because as I mentioned, strong time travel feeling in here. If you're a Russian-rooted millennial or Gen Z, there is a huge potential for you to learn a lot and feel connected to the past of Russia.

I certainly felt connected and impressed. Should you folks happen to have any second thoughts or reservations about watching this, I tell you to just let go of them because the experience is incredible. Worth my every penny :)

Who would have guessed that the feel-good movie of the year so far would be a Russian rock musical, set in the 1980's and filmed in widescreen black and white? Kirill Serebrennikov's "Leto" works on a number of levels; as a picture of a still totalitarian Russia coming to terms with influences from the West, as a good old-fashioned musical and as a picture of relationships under pressure and the fact that it looks so damned beautiful, (should all movies be in black and white?), is just the icing on the cake. Throw in some awesome tunes from the period and what's not to love. I can even imagine a shirtless Putin head-banging to this just to keep his street-cred intact. The young cast, too, are excellent; this is a first-rate ensemble piece in which even the smallest part is perfectly played. Some of the musical numbers might remind you of the Elton John biopic "Rocketman" but this knocks that out of the ballpark. Don't miss it.

Leto is to me the best film of 2018 as its direction is so original, unique and magnificient. The story is rather simple. A confirmed rock star of the early eighties (Mayk) struggles to promote rock music in the declining Sovietic Union when another musician (Viktor Tsoi) arises as a new promising talent. His wife, Natalia can't help to be attracted to this new talent...and so does he. This film almost has it all. It features fantastic actors, an interesting story (who would not like to know what was being a rock star in the Soviet Union in the 80's ?), a great soundtrack, and some developments in the film you do not expect. I would definitely take on the direction of this film as its main feature, as Serebrennikov films so well, invents moments of magic, and has so much inventions that you can feel the soul of rock. Quite early in the film, you understand the movie is not just all about following the emergence of Viktor Tsoi the Kurt Cobain of Russia (or the Jim Morisson of Russia back in those days), but also about giving pride of place to the ideal of rock. Serebrennikov pays tribute to what rock and roll meant for his generation, what it inspired and what it felt to listen to this music in this oppressive atmosphere of Russia in the 80's. I believe that many many directors tried this before him, but Serebrennikov may be the only one to have succeeded in this initiative of linking music to political protest. The long take at the beach and several musica clips are simply fantastic ! For this and for his fantastic direction, the film has already become a must-see film to me.