Event

SLIFF - Hipsters

Hipsters (Stilyagi)

Valeriy Todorovskiy, Russia, 2008, 135 min., Russian

Wednesday, Nov. 14, 9:30 p.m., Hi-Pointe

While the Cold War heats up on the world stage, rebellious youth in 1955 Moscow wage a cultural battle against dismal Soviet conformity by donning brightly colored black-market clothing, adopting American nicknames. and reveling in forbidden jazz. Straight-laced 20-year-old Communist Mels (named after Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin) initially finds these brazen "hipsters" shocking, but after falling under the spell of the beautiful Polly, he eagerly joins the new revolution. Soon enough, Mels is a full-on hipster, cavorting in the latest flashy fashions, sporting an enormous pompadour, and wailing exuberantly on the saxophone. "Hipsters" won Best Director and Best Screenplay at the 2009 Russian Golden Eagle Awards and Best Art Direction at the 2009 Chicago International Film Festival. The Washington Post writes: "The Russian musical 'Hipsters' is a candy-colored confection with a dark, bittersweet center."