IMDb RATING
7.3/10
7.9K
YOUR RATING
A love triangle emerges around a rock and roll musician, his protege and his wife in 1980s Russia.A love triangle emerges around a rock and roll musician, his protege and his wife in 1980s Russia.A love triangle emerges around a rock and roll musician, his protege and his wife in 1980s Russia.
- Awards
- 14 wins & 29 nominations
Roman Bilyk
- Mike
- (as Roma Zver)
Ksenia Plyusnina
- Ksusha
- (as Ksenia Plusnina)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaBesides Victor Tsoy and Mayk Naumenko, several characters known only by their first names or nicknames are stand-ins for real musicians, popular in the Soviet rock scene. In 1980's Leonid (Filipp Avdeyev) represents Aleksey Rybin of 'Kino' fame. 'Punk' is a stand-in for Andrey 'Svin' Panov (Aleksandr Gorchilin), leader of 'Avtomaticheskiye ydovletvoreniye' punk band and one of the pioneers of punk genre in USSR. Bob (Nikita Efremov) is Boris Grebenshchikov, leader of rock band 'Akvarium' and Artyom (Andrey Khodorchenkov) represents Artemiy Troitskiy, pioneer of rock music in USSR and organizer of multiple rock concerts and festivals.
- Crazy creditsThe title card before the end credits roll is Russian for "This film is dedicated to those we love"
- ConnectionsReferenced in Evening Urgant: Denis Klyaver/Vyacheslav Kuznetsov/Stanislav Tsapaev (2018)
- SoundtracksDryan'
Written by Mikhail Naumenko
Performed by Zveri: Roman Bilyk (vocals), German Osipov (guitars), Kirill Afonin (bass),Valentin Tarasov (drums), Vyacheslav Zarubov (keyboards)
Featured review
The wind of Summer blows in frozen USSR.
The place is Leningrad, shortly before Perestroika. Lou Reed and David Bowie's records are circulating covertly while a local rock scene emerges. Mike and his wife, the beautiful Natasha, meet the young Viktor Tsoi. Surrounded by a new generation of musicians, they will change the course of rock'n'roll in the USSR.
Leto, that's what they call summer in Russian. And in fact, a very pleasant summer breeze blows in this film, bearing a scent of freedom. Freedom to listen to and play the music you choose, rock in this instance - and its even more demanding variation, punk. An energetic and energizing way to try and melt the ice pack that was then freezing the dying USSR. « Music above all else », as Verlaine said, is the creed of Serebrennikov, which does not mean he neglects the form, quite the contrary. Very personal, full of contrasts, inventive, the way he presents things changes according to the variations of tones, measured one moment, light and airy the next. Without any constraint, the director mixes black and white and color, realism and fantasy, gravity and futility, real and animated views, dramatic and comic scenes. Nothing stops the director, who keeps experimenting - and in all possible fields, including musicals: the sequences danced to cult tracks such as "Passenger", "Perfect Day" or "Psycho Killer" are astonishing. On the funny side, memorable are the concert scenes given by local rockers in front of whom fans are ordered, under penalty of punishment, to remain screwed to their chairs without moving, applauding or shouting. Kafkaesque but authentic! The whole thing, which could give the impression of a regular mishmash, is fortunately cemented by a central story, that of the passion, both sentimental and creative, of a love triangle. Three excellent performers have the knack to make the threesome close to us and touching. "Leto" is the product of free artists. Maybe « too » free. Wasn't his director put under house arrest at the end of filming? Well, whether his tormentors like it or not, the « renegade » director has achieved his end: making us discover - and love - gifted Russian outcasts we hadn't heard much about until now.
Leto, that's what they call summer in Russian. And in fact, a very pleasant summer breeze blows in this film, bearing a scent of freedom. Freedom to listen to and play the music you choose, rock in this instance - and its even more demanding variation, punk. An energetic and energizing way to try and melt the ice pack that was then freezing the dying USSR. « Music above all else », as Verlaine said, is the creed of Serebrennikov, which does not mean he neglects the form, quite the contrary. Very personal, full of contrasts, inventive, the way he presents things changes according to the variations of tones, measured one moment, light and airy the next. Without any constraint, the director mixes black and white and color, realism and fantasy, gravity and futility, real and animated views, dramatic and comic scenes. Nothing stops the director, who keeps experimenting - and in all possible fields, including musicals: the sequences danced to cult tracks such as "Passenger", "Perfect Day" or "Psycho Killer" are astonishing. On the funny side, memorable are the concert scenes given by local rockers in front of whom fans are ordered, under penalty of punishment, to remain screwed to their chairs without moving, applauding or shouting. Kafkaesque but authentic! The whole thing, which could give the impression of a regular mishmash, is fortunately cemented by a central story, that of the passion, both sentimental and creative, of a love triangle. Three excellent performers have the knack to make the threesome close to us and touching. "Leto" is the product of free artists. Maybe « too » free. Wasn't his director put under house arrest at the end of filming? Well, whether his tormentors like it or not, the « renegade » director has achieved his end: making us discover - and love - gifted Russian outcasts we hadn't heard much about until now.
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- guy-bellinger
- Feb 6, 2021
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Details
- Release date
- Countries of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Summer
- Filming locations
- Saint Petersburg, Russia(setting of the action)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Gross worldwide
- $3,073,293
- Runtime2 hours 6 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 2.39 : 1
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