Varjoja paratiisissa

There is an atmosphere of social desolation a little bit reminiscent of Olmi, and the sparse dialogue and slight underacting place this somewhere between Fassbinder and sixties Bresson, but basically this is unlike anything. It's distinctly Aki Kaurismäki, on his third feature film already a formidable auteur. A parsimonious drama that packs a real punch.

I think I'm going to like Kaurismaki. I really like his world view: this is all about two working class people who largely fail to find a good reason to live in their depressing surroundings, but come to find at least a little bit in each other. Any love story thrives on the charisma and chemistry of the leads, and it's remarkable how involving the two leads are despite acting almost completely deadpan and seeming to hate each other most of the time.

Is this the Scandinavian answer to Stranger Than Paradise?

"Tipik bir Kaurismaki filmi" cümlesi okuyana ne ifade ediyorsa, tam tamına film o. Not: Bu olumlu bir yorumdur.

A carefully composed working class romance. Typically of Kaurismäki, it sparsely channels various stylistic references into empathic tragicomic poetry in which every cinematic gesture is an awkward & pained contrivance or a muffled emotional outreach. Its best moments seamlessly express both. I fear a lot of this may not translate too clearly since it often uses distinctly Finnish (non)expressions as punchlines or points of contrast. Funny yet compassionate yet miserable yet strangely uplifting