Inthebleakfilmscapeofglasnost,TheNeedlestoodoutasablacksheepofamovie.ThemostplayfulandoffbeatoftheSovietfilmsoftheperiod,itcontrastedsharplytothemainstream,whichwasoverwhelmedwithrevisionismoftheStalinistpastandnihilisticsocialcriticism.Madein1988byayoungKazakhdirector,RashidNugmanov,freshoutofVGIK(thenationalfilmschool),TheNeedlewasapioneeringeffortinseveralways.Havingcomefromaremote,stagnantrepublicofKazakhstan,thepicturesetoffamovementthathascometobeknownasthe"KazakhNewWave."RepresentedbysuchworksasAlexanderBaranov'sandBakhytKilibayev'sTheThree(1988)andWomanoftheDay(1990);Kilibayev'sTheTick(1990);Baranov'sHeandShe(1990);AbaiKarpykov'sLittleFishinLove(1989);andSerikAprymov'sTheLastStop(1989),theKazakhNewWavewasfortheagonizingSovietfilmofthelate1980swhattheFrenchNewWavewasforthedustyFrenchfilmofthelate1950s.TheNeedlewasthemovement'saboutdesouffle.ThefilmalsobecameamodelfortheRussianversionofpostmodernism—
2021-08-28
