Leningrad - The Man Who Sings

Peter Rippl:
Leningrad - The Man Who Sings (Germany, Russia, 2008)
82 min. - Russian - English subtitles
K-13

Sergey "Shnur" Shnurov is a known Russian bad boy whose songs talk about drinking, sex, and arduous survival of everyday life spiced with drunken, hopeful humor. His late band Leningrad became one of the most significant underground bands in Russia in the 1990s making audiences all over Eastern Europe go wild at their unbeliavably energetic gigs. Their crazy mixture of polka, ska, punk and Russian folk songs reminds of Gogol Bordello, but with a Soviet twist. Petr Ripple's Leningrad �€“ The Man Who Sings is the first documentary on this cult band.

Leningrad gained their fame with their straightforwardness and workaday charisma. In his film, Petr Ripple opens the window to Russian music world through everyday work. The documentary shows the hard work of the punk superstars and their lives outside tours. The charismatic Shnurov carries the band along shouting out his opinions about politics and business world while shedding light to the progress of the music and youth culture in the great power after the collapse of Soviet Union. The best parts of the documentary are, however, the wild live gigs by the band that at its hugest grows into a 15-piece orchestra. This wild energy bursts through the screen!

"When I started I didn�€�t know anything, but after hanging around with these guys, being in Russia, talking to the people I understood it. (Peter Rippl)

» www.leningrad-derfilm.com

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Sat 20th Nov at 8:45pm at Tapio 4