kalkaanslag-62205
About 6 years ago when i was 12, i believe, i went to the theaters to see this movie with a friend and our mothers. I understand that because that was such a long time ago and i was still so young, this review might not be completely reliable. However I still perfectly remember how much of a waste of time I found this movie to be and that is why I'm not going to make myself go trough that terrible experience again.This is in fact the only rating of 1 that i have ever given because I feel like 1's are given too easily and because every other movie/ TV show i have ever seen has had at least one moment that I didn't hate.In fact, this "thing" can not even be called a movie. It's a horrible concert with horrible music from a horrible band with horrible hair, meant to have a horrible deeper meaning about a horrible war that gave me a horrible experience. I do appreciate deeper meanings in movies except if those deeper meanings are covered in an hour long pile of sh*t that is being bombarded at me.Also because this is a concert, it has no story, and no spoilers, so i have just spoiled all 0 of the 0 spoilers.If you don't mind, i'm going to eat some ice cream and think of something more fun (for example everything else in life) and I suggest you do the same thing instead of watching this "thing"1/10
Martin Teller
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.
Max_cinefilo89
Total Balalaika Show is often wrongly described as "the third Leningrad Cowboys movie". That's not really correct: the Show is, in fact, a concert, featuring the Cowboys and the Red Army Choir, which took place in Helsinki. Aki Kaurismäki, who directed the Leningrad Cowboys flicks, filmed this concert and made it known to the world.The biggest pleasure of seeing this event is the discovery that, contrary to popular belief, the Leningrad Cowboys aren't bad at all. That's just something they made up for the movies. Just watch them as they take Helsinki by storm with their personal versions of Those Were The Days (also featured in one of Kaurismäki's short films) and Sweet Home Alabama (amazing, just amazing).It's a really great experience, whose impact is partially diminished by one fact: Kaurismäki's version doesn't feature the entire concert, since getting the rights to certain songs (most notably Bob Dylan's Knocking On Heaven's Door) would have been too expensive. Nonetheless, what we have is a really good filmed concert, and there's plenty of fun to be had for those watching it.
shierfilm
This 1993 concert is absolutely awesome. The Leningrad Cowboys gave the Finnish people a lot for their money. Backed by the Alexandrov Red Army Choir, they set Helsinki on fire on that night in June.Covers of The Turtles, Bob Dylan, Tom Jones, and ZZ Top are just a small aspect of this "rockumentary". (Their version of "Those Were The Days" has to be seen to be believed)Bravo to Kaurismaki, a world-class director who achieved something really special with this concert film. It's hard to find these days, but if you can track it down, you will be in for a serious treat.
AD
