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Ariel

Ariel

1988
Comedy, Drama
1h 12m
The movie tells the story of Taisto Kasurinen, a finnish coal miner whose father has just committed suicide and who is framed for a crime he did not commit (imdb)
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Ariel

1988
Comedy, Drama
1h 12m
Your probable score
Avg Percentile 65.75% from 480 total ratings

Ratings & Reviews

(480)
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Rated 22 Apr 2012
70
53rd
The deadpan mood is unmistakeably Kaurismäki. The opening scene is fantastic. Overall impression: solid but unspectacular. Not among Aki's best.
Rated 03 Mar 2007
81
69th
Awfully similar to Drifting Clouds, although different in enough ways too. Working-class guy, string of bad luck, vaguely happy ending. Long takes, relevant soundtrack, offscreen action, minimal dialogue, very dry humor.
Rated 11 Oct 2009
75
46th
Is this the Scandinavian answer to Down By Law?
Rated 20 Nov 2013
81
79th
Proleterya üçlemesini ilk filmi Cenneteki Gölgeler'e nazaran daha çetrefil bir hikayeyle, bu kez işÃ§inin içinde bulunduğu durum yerine, sistemin etkisiyle nasıl suça doğru yuvarlandığını anlatıyor. Hem dramatik, hem soğuk, hem de sarkastik. Kaurismaki işte.
Rated 23 Feb 2010
80
82nd
Unmistakably Aki, capturing the dizzying highs and terrifying lows of life by aiming his camera directly at the unaffected middle, then holding the shot for an eternity. This movie makes me wish I could wake up tomorrow Finnish, instead of just drunk and suicidal.
Rated 01 May 2010
85
95th
Taisto is an essentially good working-class guy who perseveres when the going gets tough, even when it means doing bad things. His luck is like a roller-coaster, and it's hard not to root for him through better and worse. Minimalistic, dark but brisk, a very good movie.
Rated 08 Feb 2011
74
61st
Surprisingly positive at some moments. But a typical Kaurismäki most of the time.
Rated 12 May 2011
28
92nd
the moment w/ the convertible top was really graceful
Rated 07 Oct 2012
70
71st
Probably the weakest of the trilogy, but that's like saying the Brazil nut is the weakest in your fancy nut jar -- it's still really good.
Rated 16 Feb 2013
67
52nd
If someone asked me to explain the appeal of this movie, I'd be at a loss. On paper, there isn't much there, and honestly the film didn't have much either--except for Kaurismaki's likeable downtrodden characters (I liked the lead, who reminded me of a Kaurismakian Coin Farrell), and the way he infuses the downbeat with lightness and childlike hopefulness--that, made the film for me.(ps:69)
Rated 22 Mar 2013
75
56th
I'm completely with it for the first hour or so which is really funny, emotionally engaging (swoon) and even in its more absurd moments it remains convincing. The last ten minutes falter a bit for me, all the gangsters and guns stuff feels very odd and out of place in a Kaurismaki film, but I still very much enjoyed the film.
Rated 17 Apr 2013
88
61st
First half is really fucking good. Love the punchy and economical writing.
Rated 07 Jan 2014
49
36th
Kaurismaki and his world of calamari-faced people. Zero emotions. Dramatic or tragic shit happens and there's not even a twitch in faces of calamari. I guess that's one way to look at absurdity of life - laugh at it in a dry dry way. Doesn't work for me.
Rated 31 Aug 2014
81
72nd
A Finnish proletarian Nick Cave drifting towards the city, then bad things happen. We would have learned nothing else about the characters if the film took 3 hours, because that's who Kaurismaki's characters are: inexplicably and sometimes irritatingly calm and cool. Also the penal system is fucked up even in Scandinavia, but who cares, that's what it is for.
Rated 02 Jan 2015
50
0th
Aki Kaurismäki #1
Rated 16 Jul 2017
83
76th
Wild
Rated 25 Feb 2018
70
39th
Simple, constantly advancing story. The setting is dull, the characters are unemotional, the humor is dry. Everything is toned down, but still engaging
Rated 26 Apr 2019
84
75th
Kaurismaki has made a film where the "victory" is in a person leaving home rather than returning home. In this, we have a bracing portrait of life in Finland, and the way the deck is stacked against the poor.
Rated 27 Jun 2019
5
22nd
Great looking. But I'll try one of those Russian 'dubs' to see if it gets funnier.
Rated 29 Feb 2020
85
86th
A fun ride. As pure entertainment, with a slight socioeconomic critique, I don't know what else to ask for.
Rated 05 Jan 2021
82
85th
Probably not the best Kaurismäki movie but it has some of my favourite Kaurismäki moments that perfectly express the pained self-awareness that makes his films simultaneously funny and tragic, realistic and fantastical.
Rated 23 May 2021
65
19th
w/ Buket
Rated 28 Aug 2022
80
85th
A bleak but somehow hilarious movie in a way that cannot be entirely explained. I've learned that it's the Kaurismäki way of doing things, that deadpan humor mixing with drama. They always seem to involve US cars, as well, and some classic Finnish music and bars with the cigarettes and cheap beer. I've learned to love it, and it does so much fit with my snarky, bleak Finnish brain.
Rated 04 Dec 2023
63
83rd
A frustrating but effective watch that shows how ineffective the penitentiary system is and how it inevitably leads to more crime. The cinematography is immaculate, as is the case for every Aki Kaurismäki movie.

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