The Burglar

With a brother dedicated to punk rock stardom at any cost and a drunken father who chases skirt between robotic dancing lessons from the TV young Senka stands as much chance of nurture as the hero of Truffauts 400 Blows The amazing thing about Ogorodnikovs film is that it was made in Russia Clearly plenty of Soviet teenies share the nihilistic feelings of their Western counterparts and the extensive footage of safetypin chic at concerts perhaps points to a sound export instinct on the directors part Senkas brother Kostya is under pressure from Howmuch a very heavy rocker to steal a synthesiser from the Community Centre so to protect him Senka steals it himself The story occupies little more space than the music but the performances are splendid enough to lodge Senkas predicament in the heart