Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki finds hope amongst war in “Fallen Leaves”

The film, which follows two lonely people trying to find the first love of their lives in Helsinki, is the fourth instalment of his famous “Proletariat” film series.

AFP

Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki poses during a photocall for "Kuolleet Lehdet" (Fallen Leaves) during the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2023.

Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki finds hope amongst war in “Fallen Leaves”

Firas Al-Madi

last update on 24 Aug 2023

In 2017, Aki Kaurismäki announced his short-lived retirement from the film industry.

“I’m tired. I want to start living my own life,” he said, in an interview. “I have said this before, but it really is adios now.”

Six years on, however, he’s rescinded his farewell.

Earlier this year, the celebrated Finnish director launched his latest film, “Fallen Leaves,” at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize.

The film follows two lonely people trying to find the first love of their lives in Helsinki. It marks the fourth instalment of the filmmaker's famous “Proletariat” film series, which includes “Shadows in Paradise” (1986), “Ariel” (1988), and “The Match Factory Girl” (1990).

AFP — Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki (CENTRE) arrives with Finnish actor Jussi Vatanen (L to R), producer Paula Oinonen, Finnish actress and singer Alma Poysti and Finnish producer Misha Jaari for the screening of "Fallen Leaves".

The first three tragicomedies feature lonely characters from the proletariat, who struggle to maintain jobs or fill the void in their lives. Jaded and down on their luck, they eventually find love and freedom.

There’s a dry humour to his films and characters, who attempt to fill the emptiness of their lives with alcohol, cigarettes and oversized sunglasses, all to the soundtrack of Renegades songs (or sad blues tunes) in their Cadillac. (“When there's no hope, there's no reason for pessimism, either,” Kaurismäki has said, in the past, which seems to sum up his characters' ethos.)

In the style of French director Robert Bresson, Kaurismäki takes a minimalist yet meticulous approach behind the lens.

But unlike Bresson, whose drama is communicated visually, Kaurismäki places his characters’ internal journey at the dramatic core of his films, striking the perfect balance between cold comedy and the warmth of human emotion.

Hope shines through

The protagonists of “Fallen Leaves,” Ansa (Alma Pöysti) and Holappa (Jussi Vatanen), are more reminiscent of Kaurismäki’s ‘80s and ‘90s films than his more recent works.

Ansa, who works at a supermarket, barely speaks throughout the movie. After getting caught stealing an expired sandwich from work, she’s fired.

Meanwhile, Holappa is a tall, pleasant construction worker; he’s a heavy drinker and a man of few words. One day, he goes to a karaoke pub with his colleague and roommate but refuses to get behind the microphone, because “tough men do not sing” (or so he says).

At the pub, Ansa and Holappa's eyes meet. They exchange reluctant gazes. Eventually, they overcome their timidness and decide to go on a date to the movies. (At this point, Holappa doesn't know Ansa's name.)

At the pub, Ansa and Holappa's eyes meet. They exchange reluctant gazes. Eventually, they overcome their timidness and decide to go on a date to the movies.

They choose to watch the absurdist zombie comedy "The Dead Don't Die" (2019) by American director Jim Jarmusch, who happens to be a real-life friend of Kaurismäki, and the closest among American directors to his style. (Jarmusch even turns actor in another one of the Finnish director's films.)

A conversation between two characters, who only appear in this scene, hints at Kaurismäki sense of humour.

One of them compares "The Dead Don't Die" to Robert Bresson's "Diary of a Country Priest" (1951), which is a realist existentialist film about a clergyman who loses his faith. The other says the movie rather reminds them of Jean-Luc Godard's "Breathless" (1960), which was one of the defining movies of the French New Wave.

Along with the comedic streak that runs through the entire film – and amid the bleak, bitter darkness – a beacon of hope that is typical of Kaurismäki's films shines through.

Yes, the characters lose hope in a desolate world; their aspirations become unattainable, and their desire for change is countered by bad habits. But a sense of warmth blankets the film, infiltrating the characters' hearts despite their apparent stiffness.

Even so, the misfortune that seems to follow all of Kaurismäki's characters follows Ansa and Holappa on their first date, too.

Fallen Leaves è un film del 2023, diretto da Aki Kaurismäki, con Alma Pöysti e Jussi Vatanen.#LenigmaDelDoppio pic.twitter.com/iqt530bZRK
— Alberto (@ABenassuti) August 2, 2023

When leaving the movie, Ansa hands Holappa a piece of paper with her phone number (still without a name), but in a twist of fate, Holappa loses it.

The encounter unfolds near a poster of David Lean's "Brief Encounter" (1945), a romantic drama about a woman named Laura who waits every Thursday at the train station for Alec.

Kaurismäki pays homage to Lean's film as he shows Ansa anxiously awaiting a phone call from Holappa – or standing in front of the movie theatre where they had their first date in hopes that he might appear.

In another scene reminiscent of the romance of director Douglas Sirk, we see a desperate Ansa through a window on a rainy day, exasperated with Holappa who failed to show up to dinner.

Meanwhile, six beers in, Holappa is telling his friend how he fell in love with Ansa on the first date and accidentally lost her number, saying he would have almost married the girl whose name he didn't know.

Melancholic nostalgia

The events of "Fallen Leaves" supposedly take place in 2024, but the atmosphere gives the impression that we're in the '70s or '80s – time periods depicted in Kaurismäki's most renowned works like "Shadows in Paradise" (1986) and "The Match Factory Girl" (1990).

This anachronism is particularly evident in select scenes, like Ansa waiting in front of the cinema or the long after-work nights spent at the karaoke pub. It's also implied in the old-fashioned coats with no room for smartphones.

On the pub's analogue radio, however, people listen to news about the Russian-Ukrainian war, the only indication that the film's events take place in the 21st century.

On the pub's analogue radio, however, people listen to news about the Russian-Ukrainian war, the only indication that the film's events take place in the 21st century.

The film regards the past with a sort of melancholic nostalgia.

Cinematographer Timo Salminen, who has shot all of Kaurismäki's films since the early '80s, does an excellent job capturing the classical atmosphere typical of Kaurismäki's works. Kaurismäki is aware of the sentimental value that this style holds and its importance to his movies.

Alma Pöysti, who plays the role of Ansa, seems to be the successor of Kati Outinen, whom Kaurismäki cast in the lead roles in "Shadows in Paradise", "Drifting Clouds" and "The Match Factory Girl".

AFP — (L to R) Finnish actress Alma Poysti, Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki and Finnish actor Jussi Vatanen pose during a photocall for the film "Kuolleet Lehdet" (Fallen Leaves) during the 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival.

News of the bloody war on the pub's radio adds an aspect of political realism to the film, through which Kaurismäki highlights his perspective of the world and of Finnish society today, with the right in power following a decade of economic recession.

The news coming from across the border, which is the only thing separating Ansa and Holappa from the terrible war, infuses a sense of urgency into their budding emotional connection. It's as if the magic of their encounters is bound by a ticking time bomb.

But before the clock runs out, the tide begins to turn for our jaded lovers. Kaurismäki's intense, melodramatic depiction of their connection seems almost like a political act in and of itself – a message that life still has beautiful things to offer.

The film does not end with a pier this time, like in Kaurismäki's previous films, but with a nod to Charlie Chaplain (reportedly an inspiration for the movie), as the fallen leaves begin to fly again.

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