Hipsters - A Film About Rebels in Russia

I've been quite disappointed and/or bored by many Russian films I've seen in the past as I was bored by their length or under stimulated by the lack of color. So I must share that I was very pleasantly surprised by this film from Russian director Valeriy Todorovskiy. How could I describe it? Think Hair with Jazz music, dancing, colorful fashions & hairstyles set in 1950s' Russia.

It's Moscow in 1955 in Moscow and Stalin is in power. During this time in history, people were discouraged from being different, colorful and creative. The slightest infraction of non-conformity could land one in prison. Hipsters rebelled against the drab conformity of Stalinist Russian society.

The Hipsters were young people who flaunted convention by wearing colorful, opulent clothing and hairstyles and they enjoy having a good time.

Mels (played by Anton Shagin) is part of a group that raids the hipsters' party when he meets hipster girl Polina (played by the gorgeous Oksana Akinshina) who calls herself Polly. Note here that most of the Hipsters go by what they consider to be American names like "John", "Bob", "Fred" and "Polly." Meeting the beautiful, sexy Polly causes Mels to start moving in the world of the Hipsters.

I don't want to say too much more about the plot of this film as it would spoil it for anyone who wants to watch it. Let's just say it has some interesting twists and turns.

I think some of the cinematography in this film is amazing with it's use of color, lighting and interesting camera angles. The music is good too with a variety of different singers and musicians. There are English subtitles for the Russian lyrics of the songs.


Some favorite quotes from this film:

"You square sons of bitches!"--comment during a raid

"Good Time Polly to those who know...you're about to find out."---Polly

"Why don't all the people want to live like everyone else?"---Katya

"You still don't know what an amazing country we live in?! The accordion is allowed. The clarinet is a proper instrument. But a saxophone is considered a concealed weapon. Come back in about ten years, when they'll be playing jazz in kindergarden...then we'll talk"---man on the street to Mels when he tried to buy a saxophone

"No, this was something completely different. Imagine...Here's a person who flew in from another planet...for only a few hours."--Polly

"I think you've been listening to too much Charlie Parker."---Fred

Here are some scenes from this film:

Here's a trailer for this film: