SIFF 2010: The Soviet Swing Kids of Hipsters

HIPSTERS / Stilyagi ***1/2
(Valery Todorovsky, Russia, 2008, 125 minutes)  

 

Everyone has seen a hipster, but no one is one.-- Douglas Wolk, 2010 EMP Pop Conference

 

 

Don't let the title scare you away. Hipsters has nothing to do with the black-clad indie-rockers who roam around the clubs and bars of Capitol Hill and Williamsburg, but a group of colorfully-dressed kids giving the finger to the aesthetic dogma of 1950s-era USSR. 

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New dates and times: Hipsters is now playing at the Egyptian Theater (801 E Pine St.) at 4:05, 7, and 9:45pm through 12/8 (and 1pm on 12/4).  

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Our guide into this eye-popping world--think plaid and floral prints in chartreuse and fuschia--is Mels (Anton Shagin), a Moscow lad who lives like a good little communist until he meets pretty Polly (Lilya 4-Ever's Oksana Akinshina), after which he poufs his hair into a sky-scraping pompadour, secures a garish suit, and turns into Mel. 

Soon, he's hitting the town with Polly and her pals, like Fred (standout Maksim Matveev), who thrill to the illicit sounds of Duke Ellington and Charlie Parker. 

Since this is a musical comedy, not a docudrama, Mel learns to play the saxophone in a matter of minutes, thus securing his position as a part of this Russian rat pack. As the elusive Polly starts to yield to his overtures, Mel's old comrades plot to destroy the hipster community once and for all, but bigger forces are at play. 

If the scenario sounds political, director Valery Todorovsky (The Land of the Deaf) elevates fashion, dance moves, and romantic entanglements over any larger statements about the Soviet regime. Sure, it was repressive, but so were the hypocritical worlds depicted in Rebel Without a Cause and Grease, the sort of touchstones his us-against-them story suggests, along with Hairspray, Swingers, and Leningrad Cowboys Go America.  

Hipsters doesn't dig as deep as it could--and probably should--but it's frequently quite spectacular. Definitely recommended.  

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Original SIFF 2010 show times: June 10, 6:30pm, Egyptian Theater, and June 12, 2:30pm, Pacific Place. Director in attendance.   

Endnote: Todorovsky will also be at the June 12 screening of The Land of the Deaf at 12pm at Pacific Place. As always, dates and times are subject to change. Please visit the official website for more information. Images from Stockholm International Film Festival.