''The Needle'' (russian: Игла, Igla) is a 1988
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
. It stars
rock musician
Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...
s
Viktor Tsoi
Viktor Robertovich Tsoi (russian: Виктор Робертович Цой; ; 21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a Soviet singer and songwriter who co-founded Kino, one of the most popular and musically influential bands in the history of ...
(
Kino
Kino may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasters
* KINO, a radio station in Arizona, U.S.
* Kino FM (98.0 FM – Moscow), a Russian music radio station
* KinoTV, now Ruutu+ Leffat ja Sarjat, a Finnish TV channel
Fictional entities ...
) and
Pyotr Mamonov (
Zvuki Mu
Zvuki Mu (russian: Зву́ки Му , roughly translated as "Sounds of Moo") was a Russian alternative rock/indie/post-punk band founded in Moscow in 1983. Lead singer and songwriter Pyotr Mamonov was one of the most revered and eccentric fig ...
). The film premiered on 16 September 1988 in
Almaty
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...
and in February 1989 in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
.
''The Needle'' is known for being one of the first
Kazakh new wave films, and was one of the most watched films in the
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...
in 1989.
Plot
An enigmatic drifter known as Moro arrives in
Alma-Ata
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to 1936 as an autonomous republic as part of t ...
to extract a debt from a lowly criminal known as Spartak. He tracks down his ex-girlfriend, Dina, who lets him stay in her apartment. Meeting his debtor in a cafe called "Parliament", Moro learns that Spartak also owes money to a lot of other people. Later, he finds out that Dina's employer, the surgeon Artur, is supplying her with drugs and using her apartment to store morphine. In an attempt to help Dina, Moro takes her away to the
Aral Sea
The Aral Sea ( ; kk, Арал теңізі, Aral teñızı; uz, Орол денгизи, Orol dengizi; kaa, Арал теңизи, Aral teńizi; russian: Аральское море, Aral'skoye more) was an endorheic basin, endorheic lake lyi ...
, which they had visited together years before. The sea is by this time a barren wasteland. Moro conceals the ampules of morphine to which Dina is addicted, and after a few weeks in withdrawal she appears to be cured, but her habit returns when they return to the city. Almost desperate, Moro confronts the drug dealers, sees Spartak go into a state of hysteria, and turns Artur's people against him. The film ends as Moro is stabbed by one of Artur's thugs in a snowy street as he walks home to Dina. The ending is ambiguous, with Moro's ultimate fate unknown.
Main cast
*
Viktor Tsoi
Viktor Robertovich Tsoi (russian: Виктор Робертович Цой; ; 21 June 1962 – 15 August 1990) was a Soviet singer and songwriter who co-founded Kino, one of the most popular and musically influential bands in the history of ...
as Moro
*Marina Smirnova as Dina
*
Aleksandr Bashirov
Alexander Nikolaevich Bashirov (russian: Александр Николаевич Баширов; born 24 September 1955, in Sogom) is a Russian film and theater actor, director and screenwriter. He performed in more than sixty films since 1986.
...
as Spartak
*
Pyotr Mamonov as Artur Yusupovich
* Archimedes Iskakov as Archimedes
Production
The film was commissioned by state-backed studio
Kazakhfilm
Kazakhfilm ( kk, Қазақфильм, ''Qazaqfilm'', pronounced ; russian: Казахфильм) is a Kazakh film studio located in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
History
The film studio was founded in 1934 as the Alma-Ata newsreel studio, in 1936 the fir ...
, following the political and social reforms of
Perestroika
''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
. Nugmanov agreed to direct the film on the condition that he could choose the cast and edit the script at his will. Nugamov cast close friend Viktor Tsoi as the protagonist Moro, a character they had both been developing over their studies at the
Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography
The Gerasimov Institute of Cinematography (russian: Всероссийский государственный институт кинематографии имени С. А. Герасимова, meaning
''All-Russian State Institute of Cinemat ...
in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
. Tsoi had previously played himself in the epilogue of 1987 crime film ''
Assa
Assa may refer to: Places
* Assa (Chalcidice), a town of Chalcidice in ancient Macedonia, Greece
* Assa, Morocco, a town in Southern Morocco in the Jbel Ouarkziz
* Asa River (Kazakhstan), river in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan
* Assa (river), river ...
''.
[Rashid Nugmanov's answers to "Frequently Asked Questions" on the film "Needle"](_blank)
/ref> On directing ''The Needle'', Nugamov said:
Principal photography took place across the Kazakh SSR
; kk, Қазақ Советтік Социалистік Республикасы)
*1991: Republic of Kazakhstan (russian: Республика Казахстан; kk, Қазақстан Республикасы)
, linking_name = the ...
. The ship that Moro and Dina find in the Aral Sea is a research vessel named ''Гидролог'', or ''Hydrolog''.
Tsoi was apparently dissatisfied with the rudeness of his character in the hospital scene. He objected to the phrase "Он тебя трахает?" ("He fucks you?") and suggested removing it.
The final scene where Moro was stabbed was filmed on a street named Tulebaev (Тулебаева) in Almaty
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...
. Nugmanov claimed in an interview on ' that Moro survived the final scene, claiming a series of films about Moro were being planned.
Legacy
Alongside ''Assa
Assa may refer to: Places
* Assa (Chalcidice), a town of Chalcidice in ancient Macedonia, Greece
* Assa, Morocco, a town in Southern Morocco in the Jbel Ouarkziz
* Asa River (Kazakhstan), river in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan
* Assa (river), river ...
'' in 1987, ''The Needle'', released in the age of Perestroika
''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
, helped to bring Viktor Tsoi and ''Kino'' into mainstream popularity across the USSR, as well as attracting international attention. The band would go on to play before a crowd of 70,000 at a concert in Moscow's Luzhniki Stadium
Luzhniki Stadium ( rus, стадион «Лужники», p=stədʲɪˈon lʊʐnʲɪˈkʲi, ''Stadion Luzhniki'') is the national stadium of Russia, located in its capital city, Moscow. The full name of the stadium is Grand Sports Arena of the ...
on 24 June 1990, shortly before Tsoi was killed in a car accident in Latvia.
''The Needle'' helped to bring about the era of Kazakh new wave cinema, with films produced in Kazakhstan during this period including Nugamov's 1993 film ''The Wild East
''The Wild East'' (russian: Дикий восток, Dikiy vostok, Dikij vostok) is a Russian-language film created in Kazakhstan shortly after Fall of the Soviet Union, the dissolution of the Soviet Union released in 1993 in film, 1993. It was w ...
''. Originally, this was planned to feature Tsoi again as Moro, with a Japanese studio offering to help fund the production, however Tsoi's death in 1990 forced Nugamov to heavily rewrite the script.
The site of the final scene along Tulebaev street in Almaty
Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...
has become one of many memorials for Viktor Tsoi. In 2017, an avenue dedicated to the film was opened and metal plaques with lyrics from Tsoi's songs were laid on a stone-tiled walkway. A statue of Tsoi was later unveiled on the avenue on June 21, 2018.
The Needle: Remix (2010)
In 2009, Rashid Nugmanov began work a new edit of ''The Needle'' that expanded on the plot of the original, entitled ''The Needle: Remix'' (russian: Игла: Ремикс, Igla: Remiks). This edit was released on 16 September 2010. According to Nugmanov this was done in part to acknowledge the 20th anniversary of Tsoi's passing and to also ensure that the film was available at the highest possible quality. The rough cut of the original film was over two hours long, but the unused footage had already been destroyed at Kazakhfilm. CGI studio Doping-Pong created new scenes starring Tsoi, as Nugmanov disliked the idea of filming the scenes with a stand-in actor. Nugmanov also convinced the former members of Kino to create new pieces of music for the film.
Unlike the original, where it is not clear whether Tsoi's character survived after being wounded at the end of the film, in the "Needle Remix" he is shown to survive. Of this change, Nugmanov commented:
See also
* '' A star called the Sun''
*'' The Needle: Remix''
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Needle
1988 films
1988 crime drama films
Films set in Kazakhstan
Kazakhstani drama films
Films shot in Kazakhstan
1980s Russian-language films
Films about drugs
Russian films about revenge
Soviet crime drama films
Russian crime drama films
Soviet teen films
Soviet-era Kazakhstani films