Assa (Sergei Solovyov; 1987)

Carrie Pitts, former Moscow resident and self-described 'emergency back-up guest', joins Ally to discuss this late '80s Russian cult favourite.

We were fortunate enough to see it on the big screen as Kino Klassika put it on as part of their #YouthOnTheMarch season of Soviet New Wave films.

Expect SPOILERS from about 9 minutes in until the end.

CONTENT WARNING: the movie features scenes domestic violence, and, as we discuss during this episode, an extremely insensitive casting decision.

Assa stars Tatyana Drubich, Stanislav Govorukhin, and Sergei 'Afrika' Bugaev. It also features a memorable cameo by Kino frontman Viktor Tsoi. Much of the soundtrack was written by another Russian rock star, Boris Grebenshchikov.

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The show's intro music is Cold by Sasha Ilyukevich and the Highly Skilled Migrants.

You can find more of their music at: https://thehighlyskilledmigrants.bandcamp.com/ or on Spotify.

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