IS IT EASY TO BE YOUNG?

Above all, Juris Podnieks’ film became a Soviet 1980s blockbuster that managed to capture the Perestroika atmosphere better than any other movie for the following reason: it doesn’t tell a story of rebellious youths, it tells the story with them. The biggest associated ideological scandal was rooted in the fact that the film did not employ any regulated off-camera voice-over commentary in its depiction of a young, non-conformist scene. Screenwriter Ābrams Kleckins spoke of the “rehabilitation of reality” that this film set in motion. Podnieks himself spoke of the “honest faith” extended towards the young people on his part: that is the only way to gain access to this “terra incognita” – which concerns us all.