Assa
Асса (1987)
Revenue
$67 169
Director
Sergei Solovyov
Scenario
Composer
Actors
Sergei Bugayev
Бананан
Tatyana Drubich
Алика
Stanislav Govorukhin
Андрей Валентинович Крымов
Aleksandr Bashirov
«Майор» Шурик
Alexandr Domogarov
Александр I
Kirill Kozakov
Платон Зубов
Viktor Tsoi
Музыкант
Aleksandr Sporykhin
псих в обезьяннике
Short description
Assa is set in Yalta during the winter of the mid-1980s. Alika arrives in the seaside town with Krymov, an older gangster, but she becomes involved with Bananan, a young musician who works by day as a caretaker and performs at night in a restaurant. Krymov's jealousy turns dangerous, while a separate thread follows a plot to kill a ruler in the eighteenth century.
The film was directed by Sergei Solovyov, who wrote the screenplay with Sergey Livnev. It was made in the Soviet Union by Mosfilm and Krug and runs 150 minutes, mixing crime, drama, music and romance. The cast includes Sergei Bugayev as Bananan, Tatyana Drubich as Alika, Stanislav Govorukhin as Krymov, Aleksandr Bashirov, Alexandr Domogarov and Kirill Kozakov, among 26 credited performers.
Released in November 1987, Assa drew a sizable audience over the years and retains a solid reputation: it holds 7.6 out of 10 on IMDb from around 3,500 votes and 7 out of 10 on TMDB from 79 votes, with the much larger IMDb sample indicating enduring recognition. The soundtrack and rock-music milieu place it among the director's 1980s work.
What's left behind the scenes
- The portrait of Brezhnev, past which the film's characters walk, was made specifically for the filming by a local artist. The appearance of the portrait on the embankment several years after the General Secretary's death caused the most incredible speculation among the local population.
- Alik and Bananan are watching the film 'The Quiet Street' featuring Charlie Chaplin in the cinema.
- At the beginning of the cable car ride, it is clearly visible that the main characters boarded a red cabin. But at the end, Bananan is sitting in a blue one.
- The monologue about Gagarin by 'Major' is a pure improvisation by actor Alexander Bashirov.
- The episode of Krymov and Bananan winter swimming was actually filmed in the summer. The ice on the water and the snow on the shore are artificial.
- The actors of the Lilliputian Theater perform excerpts from Imre Kalman's operetta "Silva".
- The idea to place a palm tree on a rotating record player in Banana's scene was taken by the film's authors after they attended a show-concert by the "Cabinet" group, the first group in the USSR to play in the ska style in the mid-1980s.
- Vitya, a Black man, portraying a foreign artist, hums songs "Beyond the Sea" and Sting's "Moon over Bourbon Street" in the hotel lobby (although the album "The Dream of the Blue Turtles" featuring this song was released only in 1985, that is, after the events described in the film). Also, a photograph of Nick Cave from the album "The Firstborn Is Dead," released only in 1985, hangs in Banana's room.
- Krymov and Bananan are traveling from Yalta to the Simferopol hippodrome. The events of the film take place in 1980, whereas the hippodrome in Simferopol ceased to exist in the early 1970s. The episode was filmed at the Moscow hippodrome.
- The working title of the film was 'Hello, Boy Bananan!' Auditions were held under this title. The name of the main character in the film 'Bananan' came from a character in the song 'Hello, Boy Bananan' (featured in the film), written and performed by Yuri Chernavsky on his rock album 'Banana Islands,' which was recorded in February 1983.
- Banana's phrase 'A futurist Vladimir Mayakovsky, not born for money' refers to a little-known and lost film with Mayakovsky called 'Not Born for Money'.
- The refusal of the administration of the "Oreanda" hotel to allow filming was resolved only after a telegram, sent in desperation by Sergei Solovyov to the address of General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev, reached its destination by chance. The telegram, reaching the addressee directly, infuriated him so much that the issue was immediately resolved.
- The slogan 'Assa' during Rock Wednesday was introduced by artist Oleg Kotelnikov; this slogan was widely used within the community associated with 'Kamchatka'.
- The film's title was suggested by Sergei Bugayev, who played the role of Bananan.
- The songs 'I Address You Informally,' 'Mochalkin Blues,' and 'Old Man Kozlodoyev,' sung by Sergei Ryzhenko in the film, are performed in their original versions by Boris Grebenshchikov on the record.
- The main filming took place on location in Crimea, in Yalta, with some scenes shot in Moscow.
- Krymov quotes Pushkin.
- This was the first Soviet film whose premiere was accompanied by a grand theatrical presentation held at the MELZ Palace of Culture in Moscow.
- The episode featuring the performance of the song 'I Want Changes' was filmed in the Green Theatre of the Gorky Central Park of Culture and Leisure in Moscow. Instead of paying extras, the film crew organized a free 'Kino' concert, during which the episode was filmed. Due to filming specifics, the song was performed to a backing track. The rest of the concert was played live. The audience who came to the free concert was so outraged by the long preparation for filming the scene that they overturned a fire truck that was on standby for safety reasons.
- The vinyl record with songs from the film, released by 'Melodya' in 1987, became one of the first official Soviet publications of domestic rock music.
- Historical scenes were filmed at the Mikhailovsky Castle in Leningrad.
- The main character is named Alika – this is how the screenwriter Sergei Livnev decided to immortalize the name of his beloved, the actress Alika Smekhova, who later became his wife.
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
