Tsoi in Life and on Screen
“Summer” is story about life in and around a famous
Leningrad rock club in 1981. It explores the relationship between
three real people: Mike Naumenko, the front-man of the band Zoopark and one of
the key characters in the Leningrad rock scene;
his wife Natalya Naumenko; and Victor Tsoi, who founded and led the band Kino.
Mike Naumenko is played by rock musician Roman Bilyk from the
group Zveri, while up-and-coming Russian film star Irina Starshenbaum plays
Natalya and Korean actor Teo Yoo plays Tsoi. Since Yoo doesn’t speak Russian,
one actor dubbed his speaking parts and another dubbed his singing.
The film is a flashback for anyone who lived in the early 1980s
and was a part of the rock scene.
It’s shot in black and white
until the first musical numbers, which are in color and reminiscent of early
homemade music videos. The music includes covers of western artists, including
the Talking Heads, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. But most of the musical numbers in
the film are covers of the original songs by Tsoi and Kino, as well as Zoopark.
“Summer” tells the story behind the creation of such early Kino hits as
“Vosmiklassnitsa” (High School Girl) and “Bezdelnik” (Loiterer). Both became
part of Tsoi’s first album, called “45.” The recording of the album, produced
by 1980s rock veteran Boris Grebenshchikov, is also a part of the film.
