The Needle (1988)

Great Film overall

A movie that not only functions as a solid scarefest but a razor-sharp satire.

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Igla is best known for starring "Kino" rock star Viktor Tsoy in the leading role and featuring his music in the soundtrack. But it's far from an insubstantial music tie-in film; I was seriously impressed. As other reviewers have pointed out, the plot is simple. That's true, but it's best that way considering how the film is presented, and it seemed to me intentional. This film is powered mainly not by what exactly what is told but by how it is told. While the sequence of events is simple, it is revealed obliquely, with snatches of information and actions or set pieces that avoid obvious exposition. The real exceptional element is the grim surrealism in how the events are shown us -- Dima wearing a mask as Moro first reunites with her is much more eloquent than just saying she seems changed. These elements with artistically out-there steps such as the inclusion of brief drawn-on animations and the atmospheric inclusions of outside film and sound clips create an overall feel that's impossible to quite put into words. And the postmodern elements are all included very intelligently -- such as when the scene begins to imitate a Kung-Fu or action film only long enough to subvert the trope and show Moro get knocked down. All this is quite impressively film against a very bleak-looking late- Soviet Kazakh backdrop that definitely adds to the atmosphere. Tsoy does a very good job acting-wise -- like some other talented performers without specific acting training he communicates a lot of simple realism and directness that works very well. While the film assumes an anti-drug position from the outset, there as powerful sense of nihilism in its total position, considering the demonstrated outcome of taking personal action the way out hero does. A very impressive and powerful film.

The mere presence of a celebrity is not enough to guarantee commercial as well as critical success of a film. A good film should also possess content, depth and form. Kazakh director Rashid Nugmanov made history of sorts in 1987 when he made "Igla" during the heyday of Glasnost and Perestroika in former Russia. At this juncture, it would be right if one mentions that we need to eternally thank Russian leader Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev for those bold initiatives which were instrumental in making freedom an attainable dream for countless young Russian people. It is true that Igla refers to a needle but the entire film is not a tragic discourse about drug addiction in Russia as on an official level drug addiction did not exist at all in Russia. It was considered a purely western phenomenon. In Igla we get a chance to see that director Rashid Nugmonov has shot a film which speaks more about the myth surrounding an impossible love which in many ways symbolized the difficult life of young generation in communist era Russia. Igla scores well in all artistic departments as it has great music by Viktor Tsoi which blends perfectly with constructive, meaningful lyrics. The major highlight of the film is its imagery which brings forth the bleakness of a troubled nation. For example- a visually rich scenes features an abandoned ship lying lost in dry sands of Aral sea. The late Russian rock star Viktor Tsoi is one of the principal reasons to watch this film due to his character having two distinct yet interesting styles. He appears credible as a comical hero who doesn't hesitate to use force in order to accomplish some true to life action scenes. The overall mood of the film is nice despite a minor dose of profane humor.

The main attraction in the movie is obviosly it's main actor - Viktor Tsoy, a late Russian rock star with an asian facial qualities. Eleven years after his death, his music still holds a huge following and unfortunately exploited. In this movie, he plays a Bruce Lee-esque character who defeats the villains and suffers for it in the end. I love this movie because I'm a huge fan of Tsoy's band "KINO" otherwise I wouldn't pay much attention to it. Great soundtrack and interesting photography. Unfortunately Tsoy was not an actor and he was pretty much playing himself. Pyotr Mamonov, ex-leader of Russian experimental band "Zvuki Mu" probably was the best actor but received a minor role.

Some interesting Russian rock. V. Tsoi plays a superman which would have suited him better if he had some muscles.