hofnarr Review of Leningrad Cowboys: Those Were the Days

Leningrad Cowboys: Those Were the Days (1992 Music Video)

Surreal Kaurismaki "music video"

[9/10 · 29 November 2003]

Supposedly set in "Paris, 1994" (the Eiffel Tower is also seen in the background) a man (with the "reverse ducktail" hairstyle of the Leningrad Cowboys - hair sticking a foot and a half in front of their face - and their two foot boots with the curled toes) and his donkey are refused admission to the bar "La Maison du Vin". The bartender points to a sign picturing a donkey with an "X" through it. The Leningrad Cowboys are playing the song in the bar. A blonde woman sings a verse (this is the actress Kirsi Tykkylainen, who sings the song in the concert film TOTAL BALALAIKA SHOW. She also picks up the escapee at the end of THRU THE WIRE). She has the same "reverse ducktail" hairstyle as the group, as does a dog in the bar - which cracked me up completely! She takes the man's hand at the end of the song and the piece ends with the bar owner petting the donkey. Surreal - and classic Kaurismaki.