Virtual Friday Night Films at the Wende: Hipsters (Stilyagi)

While conducting a raid on an underground jazz club, Mels, a Komsomol youth league member, becomes enamored with Polly, a member of a gang of stilyagi (style hunters). Mels begins hanging out on “Broadway” (Gorky Street), starts to dress like the stilyagi, and procures a saxophone, eventually abandoning the Komsomol.

The film features musical numbers of reimagined Soviet rock hits, along with vibrant production design and costumes. It offers a fun and colorful insight into Moscow life in the 1950s and the appeal of Western culture, particularly jazz, among the hip youth subculture. This week’s selection pairs with this week’s Cold War Spaces program, on U.S.-Soviet cultural exchange in the mid-1950s.

Watch on Kanopy, free with a library card. Get immediate access to a LAPL e-card or LA County Library Digital Card.

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Virtual Film Picks are inspired by the in-person Friday Night Films at the Wende program series. This selection is part of a curated list of weekly movie suggestions that can be watched at home, in conjunction with #WendeOnline.