Assa

Assa, directed by Sergey Solovyov, follows a relationship between a young nurse and a crime boss set in Crimea in the late 1980s, with a soundtrack featuring Soviet underground rock bands like Kino and Akvarium. The film gave rock musician Viktor Tsoi his first screen role; Tsoi appears as himself at the film's end performing the song "Khochu Peremen" ("I Want Changes"), which was later adopted as a protest anthem by opposition movements in Russia. The film was launched in spring 1988 with an Art Rock Parade event at a Moscow electric lamp factory, including a live performance by Kino. Tsoi died in a car accident two years after the film's release, on August 15, 1990, at age 28. Who it's for: anyone curious about a film that gave a Soviet underground rock icon his first screen role and became a cultural touchstone of the glasnost era. Who it's not for: viewers wanting a traditional, linear love story, since the film uses experimental techniques like dream sequences.