In Russia, Valeriy Todorovskiy's Hipsters was a massive box-office hit, for reasons I do not entirely understand. Here in the US, it's an odd export of limited appeal, for reasons I do understand. For one, the story isn't that interesting. Set in 1950s Moscow, Hipsters concerns a group of young people who reject drab commie conformity for flamboyant American clothes and music. They hold secret parties, drive shiny American cars, smoke Marlboros, and play saxy jazz (according to the Communist Party, "a saxophone is considered a concealed weapon"). Then reality hits: Their youth ends, they have babies, they need to (and in some cases are forced to) grow up and get a life. You can't be a rebel forever.

As for the acting, not a single performance is memorable, which is surprising when you consider that one of the stars is Oksana Akinshina, who was so dazzling in Lukas Moodysson's Lilya 4-Ever. Lastly, the musical sequences, like the whole production (wardrobe, cinematography, art direction), are Hollywood-slick, and that's exactly the problem. One wants more of a Russian spin on American production values, codes, and modes.

Yet I did like Hipsters. Why? A four-minute sequence in which the hero of the film, Mels (Anton Shagin), learns how to put soul in his blow. In the sequence, a dream transports him to the heart of Manhattan, where he plays sax on top of a building. The camera swirls around him. We see the towers, neon lights, and, finally, a black American in a sharp suit. The brother shows Mels how to blow like a brother. I enjoyed this sequence because it reminded me of the strange paradox famously expressed in The Jazz Singer: Black Americans are at once marginalized and the defining entry into American culture. recommended