Leningrad Cowboys Go America
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Leningrad Cowboys Go America | |
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VHS cover for Leningrad Cowboys Go America |
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Directed by | Aki Kaurismäki |
Produced by | Katinka Faragó Aki Kaurismäki Klas Olofsson |
Written by | Sakke Järvenpää Aki Kaurismäki Mato Valtonen |
Starring | Matti Pellonpää Kari Väänänen The Leningrad Cowboys |
Release date(s) | 1989 |
Running time | 78min |
Language | Finnish/English |
Followed by | Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses |
IMDb profile |
Leningrad Cowboys Go America is a 1989 road movie by Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki about the adventures of a fictional Russian rock band (the Leningrad Cowboys, played by the Finnish rock band Sleepy Sleepers) that goes to the United States to become famous.
The film was followed five years later by a sequel, Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses (1994) and a concert film Total Balalaika Show (1994). As a result of the success of the film, the band took off in its own right.
[edit] Plot
At the beginning, the Leningrad Cowboys, a band with foot-long pompadour hairstyles, are still in Russia, where nobody likes their blend of polka and rock and roll music. Due to their seemingly complete lack of talent, a move to America comes as a natural choice, as they say people will listen to "anything" there. Before they leave for America, one band member goes outside to practice and freezes. Once in America, they go on a road trip, carrying the coffin containing the frozen band member on the roof of their car, and they play different styles of music in all sorts of places. All the while they are being driven on and exploited by their manager Vladimir (Matti Pellonpää), who keeps his beer in the coffin, and pursued by the village idiot, Igor (Kari Väänänen), who tries to become a band member. The trip includes a spell in jail, and they pass the time by making noises on the table in their cell, causing the warden to wear ear muffs; having their car engine stolen; having one nightclub close after they play there; and meeting up with a lost cousin (Nicky Tesco). In the end, the manager leaves, but the band makes it to Mexico, where they finally find success and happiness, making the top ten.
Jim Jarmusch has a cameo as a car dealer.
[edit] Trivia
The film has sometimes been listed or reviewed under the title "The Leningrad Cowboys Go to America" - adding the seemingly all-important "the" and "to": but Kaurismäki has stated that the idea of the title came from the film Marx Brothers Go West (1940) .