Total Balalaika Show (1994)

Director:

Aki Kaurismäki

Writer:

Aki Kaurismäki (writer)

Release Date:

2 July 1994 (Finland)

Genre:

Documentary | Music

Plot:

A 57 minute documentary of a Helsinki concert featuring the Leningrad Cowboys and the Alexandrov Red Army Choir and Ballet...

Plot Keywords:

Concert Film | Leningrad Cowboys

Cast

Alexandrov Red Army Ensemble	...	Choir
Atte Blom	...	Himself
Twist-Twist Erkinharju	...	Leningrad Cowboys
Ben Granfelt	...	Leningrad Cowboys
Sakke Järvenpää	...	Lead singer
Sakari Kuosmanen	...	Himself / Performer
Jore Marjaranta	...	Leningrad Cowboys
Ekke Niiva	...	Leningrad Cowboys
Pemo Ojala	...	Leningrad Cowboys
Silu Seppälä	...	Leningrad Cowboys
Mauri Sumén	...	Leningrad Cowboys
Kirsi Tykkyläinen	...	Herself / Performer
Mato Valtonen	...	Leningrad Cowboys

Also Known As:

Puna-armeijan kuoro ja Leningrad Cowboys (Finland) (TV title)

Runtime:

54 min

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish | English | Finnish | French | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Finland:S

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

Provisual

Movie Connections:

Follows Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989)

A complete tour de force

I was living in Lahti when this show was broadcast on Finnish television.I was completely stunned by the severe clash of cultures.On the one hand,a group of comically dressed musicians,very competent and visually appealing obviously spoofing the teddy boy craze and on the other hand one of the best choruses in the world dressed in their military finest. You could not expect the two divergent musical styles to get along,much less complement.... But it all works well,with the wonderful antique tractor on full display and the Red Army chorus singing Sweet Home Alabama.What a wonderful show it must have been to see live.It seems like the entire city of Helsinki was there. Hey that is only 500,000 but that's a lot of Finns in one place.