One of the great ironies we find in the history of cinema is that the film that encapsulates two of the most quintessentially American concepts – the road movie and rock ‘n’ roll – was made by a Finnish director. Naturally, we aren’t just discussing just any film, or any director for that matter, but instead the seminal comedic classic Leningrad Cowboys Go America, which was lovingly crafted by the brilliant Aki Kaurismäki, who was at this stage still quite early in his directorial career, but already one of Europe’s most exciting filmmakers, and someone whose work reflected many fascinating concepts, each one intricately woven into his films. He had already made half a dozen films and television programmes by the time he set out to tell the story of this eccentric band going in search of fame and fortune across the United States, but this was his first breakthrough moment on a global scale, an opportunity for his work to be seen by a much wider audience, rather than the decidedly niche group of devotees to Finnish arthouse cinema. There are many different aspects of this film that bear discussion, but it is also equally appropriate to just remark on how it is one of the most unconventionally hilarious films made during this film, a film that borrows some aspects from films like This Is Spinal Tap and Rock ‘n’ Roll High School (all sharing the traits of being hilarious satires centred on rock music), while still being extremely influential in its own right – we don’t often find films that are so impactful that they spawn a real-life band in the process, which is yet another reason to appreciate this film and everything it does, since with a director like Kaurismäki at the helm, and a terrific ensemble willing to go to any lengths to get a laugh, it’s impossible to not feel some sense of delight at the madness that ensues at nearly every moment throughout this delightful film.

While he doesn’t exclusively direct comedies (although most of his films do have some element of humour, even if only as tragicomic parables), Kaurismäki has found his work driven by a very simple concept, which is that comedy has the capacity to be universal, granted it is made with care and attention to detail. For a film that is based around culture, Leningrad Cowboys Go America is surprisingly fluid in how it develops its ideas, building on the concepts at the heart of the story, which gradually build up to create a hilarious and irreverent work of humour. This film has very little dialogue, and even the small amount that it does contain is incidental at best – it helps to either understand both Finnish and English, or at least have access to translations, but only to be able to catch the small, contextual details that add nuance to the story, rather than define it. There are many terrific ways to make a comedy, but I’ve always had the most respect for those that can make audiences laugh without the use of language, since this helps contribute to the idea that laughter is a universal language, which is precisely why the likes of Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin and Jacques Tati are amongst our greatest filmmakers. To be fair, Leningrad Cowboys Go America is not entirely as consistent as their work, but it still employs a very charming slapstick technique that is wickedly funny, using physical gags and visual details to draw out the biggest laughs, and everything else being additional. It also helps that this is a film centred on music, which is in itself a unifying force – we can all recognize rock ‘n’ roll when we hear it, regardless of whether it is coming from a peculiar group of foreigners with coifed hairstyles, or the grizzled proprietor of a two-in-one barber and country bar somewhere in the Deep South. These are the elements that drive Kaurismäki and his cohorts as they work to craft the demented genius that we find liberally scattered throughout this film. 

Leningrad Cowboys Go America finds most of its humour in the clash of cultures that starts from its very first moments, and this is a smart formula to follow, considering how outrageously funny this structure can be when done well. Kaurismäki has always prioritized a more simple kind of humour, and this film centres itself on emphasizing the charming peculiarities that exist between those who have only known the snow-covered landscapes of pastoral Scandinavia, and their experiences not only in an entirely different country, but terrain that is entirely different to anything they have previously experienced. The film very smartly does not restrict itself to only one part of the United States, instead featuring a voyage through different parts, which not only prevents the humour from ever getting stale (since it is impossible to run out of jokes when exploring the varied locations of the country, both in terms of the environments and the people who occupy these towns and cities), but allows the film to feel fast-paced and interesting, since it never has the opportunity to linger in one place for too long. Kaurismäki is a very intelligent director, and his humour is always well-constructed, and while Leningrad Cowboys Go America may not be the most consistent in terms of its point of view, it is still wickedly funny in ways that make sense within the context of the trans-American humour it is so actively seeking to explore. Making a film that is primarily based on exposing the differences between two cultures may seem simple, but it works based on the universality of the premise, and the fact that the humour is so recognizable, it never feels as if it is pandering to only one portion of the population, but can instead be enjoyed by everyone, a valuable trait that not very many films tend to be able to exhibit with nearly as much charm and dedication that we see in this wonderful comedy.

However, if we break it down even further, we can understand that the humour is effective not only because it is very funny and well-constructed, but because there is some depth behind it, which is always important, even for the wackiest of comedies. While the film doesn’t explore it in detail, there are aspects of cultural commentary at the heart of this story, and it is even possible to view Leningrad Cowboys Go America as a statement on the American Dream – starting the film with a character cynically saying “go to America, they’ll buy anything” is not a throwaway line, but rather establishing the foundation for the entire narrative, which may be about a group of eccentric musicians and their greedy manager seeking fame, but which serves to be a very compelling commentary on the drive to find success and prosperity in the country that has birthed so many world-renowned artists. Naturally, the film is never saccharine or even all that dedicated to the complexity of the premise, but Kaurismäki knows better than just to make this film 80 minutes of wacky adventures without having some sense of depth and nuance at the heart of the story, which is why it feels so heartful at so many points, having a lot of deeper meaning where we may not expect to find it. There’s a lot of charm behind this film, and the pleasure comes in seeing how hilarious these adventures can be, especially when placed alongside the more tender moments, which serve to add nuance rather than drive the narrative, which is something we often find in the director’s comedic works, and which is certainly not anything close to an expectation here.

It is certainly difficult to measure the level of impact that Leningrad Cowboys Go America has had on the culture, since it feels simultaneously niche and influential, which is the precise contradiction on which a film like this usually tends to thrive, since no one is ever able to fully explain its appeal, but still can’t deny that this is a purely entertaining, outrageously funny masterpiece of subversive cinema. It is not the most well-crafted comedy, but it is the kind that finds the most value in being rough around the edges, with the lack of polish being extremely charming and the main reason everything in this film feels so endearing. It also sometimes feels slightly too broad, with the narrative going in so many different directions, which is easily defended by noting that Kaurismäki was intending to make a film driven more by the atmosphere of delightful chaos, rather than a cavalcade of well-crafted sub-plots that all fit in neatly together. As a whole, Leningrad Cowboys Go America is a true delight, a bitingly funny, deeply meaningful examination of the world as seen by a group of eccentric outsiders who offer us some of the most delightfully irreverent observations on subjects with which we are all familiar. There is a reason why this film has remained so cherished, and inspired many spin-offs and imitations in the subsequent years – it is curt (running at least than 80 minutes), economical and gets to the point almost immediately, which is vitally important with any kind of comedy. It may not be to everyone’s taste, since the humour is undeniably juvenile and very silly, but it has an unorthodox charm that is difficult to resist, all of which is part of why Leningrad Cowboys Go America has become such a cultural touchstone of inter-cultural comedy, and a personal peak for everyone involved in the creation of this creatively bizarre and thoroughly entertaining film.