Reminiscent of the great longitudinal project of Michael Apted’s life’s-work “Up” films, director-co-producer-editor Robin Hessman’s beautifully structured “My Perestroika” is a gripping, loving portrait of five Muscovites who were children at the end of the Soviet era and of Communist rule, but who are grown now, and making their way in modern Russian society. It’s a rare kind of generational epic built almost entirely from intimate impulses of its protagonists, but also satisfyingly rich in the use of archive footage and home movies. It’s a vanished world, recalled with an intense range of feelings. Belief, hope and a sardonic sense of humor mark the almost four-decade journey told in a sweet, fleet eighty-eight minutes. (Ray Pride)
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
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