Tag: Finnish Cinema

Lights in the Dusk (Finnish: Laitakaupungin valot) is a 2006 Finnish comedy-drama film starring Janne Hyytiäinen, Ilkka Koivula, and Maria Järvenhelmi. It is the last installment in Kaurismäki’s “Finland” trilogy after Drifting Clouds (1996) and The Man Without a Past (2002).  Koistinen (Janne Hyytiäinen) is a lonely security guard who is ignored by his co-workers; that is, when he’s not being teased by them. He attempts to socialize, but is treated coldly by his manager. His life is soon turned upside down by a femme fatale (Maria Järvenhelmi),with heartbreaking results. Koistinen’s only human contact is the vendor Aila (Maria Heiskanen) to whom he outlines his plans of starting his own company. This nobody suggests a contemporary version of Chaplin’s Little Tramp. Koistinen accepts the cruelties dished out by life with reticence  almost as if they were his due. On the rare occasions that he ineptly lashes back, he is immediately slapped down, and several times he is beaten up. The music of “Laitakaupungin valot” deserves a special mention, since with it the aesthetic style of Kaurismäki really flowers. There is a plenty of Kaurismäki’s trade-mark dry humor at the beginning of the movie, especially at the coffee shop scene, but when the film goes on its comedic currents almost totally vanish and the dramatic values take over. Another notable feature of this work is its exceptional amount of smoking  (even for Kaurismäki), which is possibly caused by the director’s own agenda of opposing the ban of smoking in restaurants.  Kaurismäki’s sequences of scenes are as bold and assured as they are ironic. This is a pessimistic, but curiously vibrant view of life.

A welder M, played by Markku Peltola, turns up in Helsinki looking for work, dies in hospital after getting beaten by muggers but is then reborn as a man with no memory and joins a community of homeless folk living in polished contentment in empty container units. But this is not a film of a man trying to find out who he is (or was) but rather of a man trying to make a future for himself.  He finds friendship among the homeless and destitute and love with a melancholy Salvation Army worker, Irma (Kati Outinen). The government won’t help him because he has no name and no papers, so he helps himself. From the start, he continuously improves his condition. He plants potatoes next to his container and prepares for the winter. He also teaches the Salvation Army band to play spirited tunes (along the lines of “Sister Act”). “M” plays with the interesting theme of getting another chance to begin life again. We gradually see him going from a loner to becoming a part of the community.

It is the second installment in Kaurismäki’s Finland trilogy, the other two films being Drifting Clouds (1996) and Lights in the Dusk (2006). What we have here is a political allegory for our times, in which big business and the equipment of capitalism are shown as dehumanising forces of evil. The film can best be appreciated when its sly humor is at work without inhibitions. It’s a quirky film that will not suit every one’s taste, but should please those who can live with the droll acting and the Charlie Chaplin ‘silent film’ humor. What sets this film apart from other idiosyncratic adventures is its internal coherence (both in terms of storytelling and visual style) as well as the humanity of its characters.

Imdb link :     http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0311519/