Directed by Rolands Kalniņš • 1967 • USSR/Latvia

The countercultural spirit of the sixties runs through this cult musical drama from Latvia, which thumbed its nose at the prevailing Soviet orthodoxy of the era and was rarely screened as a result. By day, Cēzars Kalniņš is a telephone repairman; by night, he writes rock songs for his band The Optimists. When he is reported to the authorities by a moralistic official (Dina Kuple) for his explicit lyrics, a struggle breaks out between the stubbornly idealistic Cēzars, his compromise-minded bandmates, and the petty bureaucrats demanding changes to the group’s material. With brilliant original songs from Imants Kalniņš that would go on to achieve cult status in their own right, Four White Sails is Soviet New Wave cinema at its finest.

FOUR WHITE SHIRTS • ČETIRI BALTI KREKLI
Directed by Rolands Kalniņš
Written by Gunārs Priede
Cinematography by Miks Zvirbulis
Music by Imants Kalniņš and Māris Čaklais
Starring: Uldis Pūcītis, Dina Kuple, Līga Liepiņa

In Latvian with English subtitles