Developed within the Sixties round Russia’s well-known AvtoVAZ plant, which was constructed by the nation’s largest automobile manufacturing firm, the city of Tolyatti was as soon as the delight of the nation’s trade. Greater than half a century later, the area has now sunk right into a state of financial and social decline after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
As AvtoVAZ step by step downsizes its operations, job alternatives within the area change into more and more scarce. Countering stagnation with hope, Laura Sisteró’s dynamic documentary follows Slava, Misha and Lera, three younger adults who dare to dream and insurgent in opposition to all odds.
A prime scholar at his faculty’s automotive division, Misha speaks to his junior classmates about his expertise interning overseas with startling frankness; he merely doesn’t see a future for himself in Russia. This despondent, matter-of-fact view is shared by Lera and Slava, each determined to depart Tolyatti; in Slava’s case the prospect of the army draft additionally hangs over him.
This angst and listlessness, nonetheless, evaporates when the three get behind the steering wheel. They’re a part of a motion known as Boyevaya Klassika, by which younger folks rescue iconic, battered Lada vehicles. The digicam observes, in awe, as they drift and spin their graffitied automobiles throughout the icy floor. One thing of a ballet mécanique, these scenes are hypnotic, and even cathartic, but one can’t assist however really feel that these children are simply spinning round in circles.
The contradictions are echoed within the movie’s use of archival newsreels, which as soon as optimistically marketed Tolyatti as the town of abundance and alternative. Juxtaposed with the boredom and the struggles that plague the trio’s on a regular basis life, the intense future promised on this vibrant footage from the previous appears like a merciless, ironic joke of destiny.
