Where They Went

Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989)

Directed by Aki Kaurismäki

A hopeless polka-rock band from a tundra village flies to New York, buys an old Cadillac and plays its way south through Memphis and New Orleans to a wedding gig in Mexico, with a frozen bassist on the roof.

  • Travel shown
  • On foot, bike, skis or swimming
  • Not shown on screen
  • Fictional place
  1. 1Village in the tundra
    Tundra village of the Leningrad Cowboys (fictional)
    ≈ 00:01:00
    InferredFictional

    Nobody likes the band's music at home, so their manager decides they should try America.

  2. 2CBGB, Manhattan, New York
    ≈ 00:09:00
    Stated on screen

    At CBGB an agent hears them and sends them off to play a wedding in Mexico; Igor has stowed away on their plane.

  3. 3Bars and gigs
    Memphis, Tennessee
    ≈ 00:22:00
    Inferred

    The band learns rock and roll and plays bar gigs while Vladimir keeps the money and the beer.

  4. 4Gigs and a long-lost cousin
    New Orleans, Louisiana
    ≈ 00:40:00
    Inferred
  5. 5Wedding gig
    Mexico
    ≈ 01:05:00
    Stated on screen

The journey in numbers

Distance travelled
12,890 km
Places
5
Countries
3
Stops
5
  • Plane: 7,474 km
  • Car: 3,534 km
  • Not shown: 1,882 km

Distances are measured in a straight line between stops, so real road distances are longer.

Spotted a mistake?

Every journey is checked against the film, but we can still get things wrong.