The regular meeting of the cinema club "Cinema as a historical source" was held at PSU. Fans of cinema this time turned to the film “Igla” (“The needle”) (“Kazakhfilm”, 1988), and especially to the work of Viktor Tsoi.
The head of the film club, senior lecturer of the Department of history of Kazakhstan Aslan Azerbayev noted that the generation of young people knows about the legendary man Victor Tsoi by several songs, by well-known stock footage, but has no idea of the true scale of the personality.
“Tsoi was a kind of social “messias”, predicting the global change, the voice of the generation, who was able to identify and voice the problems of the era. He did not draw ideals, did not justify his generation, he stated the socio-cultural, spiritual condition of society", Aslan Dybysbekovich said.
Victor Tsoi is a talented musician, poet, artist, an original representative of the Leningrad rock club, a founder of one of the most popular Soviet rock bands - the “Kino” group. He is also known for his in films like “Assa”, “Igla”, “Ya hha!” and others.
The film “Igla” reveals the life of the second half of the 1980s. This is not the usual picture of a cloudless life, of a bright present and future. The film outlines the acute themes of drug addiction, responsibility, love, friendship, and even the ecological disaster of the Aral Sea.
In many episodes, musical vignettes and fragments of broadcasts of television and radio programs of that time were actively involved. They are not directly relevant to the plot and the events taking place in the film. Thus, the director emphasizes the spirit of the outgoing Soviet era, ties the action to a specific place and time.
The film was among the leaders of Soviet film distribution. In the first year of the release, the film “Igla” was watched by more than 14 million viewers.
Viktor Tsoi, according to a survey of the magazine “Soviet Screen”, was recognized as the best actor in 1989 for his role in the film “Igla”.
During the meeting, the movie lovers showed great interest in the work of Viktor Tsoi. The film “Igla” was perceived ambiguously. Some saw the re-creation of the life in the 80s, the others felt the profound philosophical intention of the director about a strong personality.
Victor Tsoi will always remain a bright historical figure. His work is a historical source, which has become classics.