Total Balalaika Show (1994)

Director:

Aki Kaurismäki

Writer:

Aki Kaurismäki

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:

Choir | Leningrad Cowboys | Pop Culture | Concert Film | Helsinki Finland

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

Directed by
Aki Kaurismäki

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Aki Kaurismäki

Produced by
Aki Kaurismäki	....	producer

Original Music by
B. Alexandrov
Tipe Johnson

Cinematography by
Heikki Ortamo

Film Editing by
Timo Linnasalo

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Erkki Astala	....	assistant director
Pauli Pentti	....	assistant director

Other crew
Jan-Eric Nyström	....	titles

Production Companies

• Provisual
• Sputnik

Distributors

• XIII Bis Records (2002) (France) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2011) (USA) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Aleksandrov Red Army Chorus Ensemble  choir and dancers

Also Known As:

Runtime:

54 min

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish | English | French | Russian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Certification:

Finland:S | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Moscow, Russia

Company:

Provisual

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Lista Top 40: Episode #1.1" (1994)

Soundtrack:

Delilah

Total Balalaika Show (1994)

Entertaining, surreal, hilarious, catchy, spectacular and just a lotta fun. Imagine meeting Lynyrd Skynyrd 30 years ago and telling them that one day "Sweet Home Alabama" would be performed by 10 guys with giant pointy shoes and giant pointy pompadours, backed by the Alexandrov Red Army Ensemble, in front of 70,000 screaming Finlandians.

It's very sweet to witness this display of unity between neighboring countries with a history of animosity. Opening with the Red Army Ensemble singing "Finlandia" and then going into "Let's Work Together" and "Happy Together" and a wonderful mix of Russian standards (I'm assuming) and western rock n' roll, it's really a joyous blend of two cultures. You can't help but smile. Although it's an oddball among Kaurismaki's deadpan narratives, it's one of his finest creations and one of the greatest concert films. The world needs more stuff like this. I'd love to visit Finland, they seem like they have a great sense of humor over there.

A fun, charming music & dance performance.