A small provincial town is home to two rival teenage gangs, one devoted to loose living and punk music and the other a collection of narrow-minded bodybuilders obsessed with order and convinced of their own moral rectitude. However, this cosy state of affairs is upset by the arrival of two strangers dressed like Pushkin, the famous early 19th century Russian poet, who proceed to found their own organisation, dedicated ostensibly to the memory of the great writer and the "salvation of Russia". Gradually, they begin to assume control of the town...
Direction
Mamin's deadpan staging of escalating absurdity
Costume
Sideburns so committed they deserve billing
Director
Yuri Mamin
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Made during glasnost, the film satirizes both Soviet stagnation and the chaotic nationalism rising to replace it. The Pushkin cult mirrors how empty cultural symbols get weaponized by aspiring strongmen.
The sideburns were apparently so uncomfortable that actors kept methods for itching them out of shot. Method acting, 1990 USSR-style.
SU
