Screening times:
Saturday, December 16, 6:45 PM - SOLD OUT
Saturday, December 16, 8:45 PM - Half-capacity screening
Aki Kaurismäki | Finland, Germany | 2023 | 81m | Finnish with English subtitles
with Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen
A gentle tragicomedy from Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki, Fallen Leaves tells the story of two lonely people who meet each other by chance in the Helsinki night and try to find the first, only, and ultimate love of their lives. Their path towards this goal is clouded by the man’s alcoholism, lost phone numbers, not knowing each other’s names or addresses, and life’s general tendency to place obstacles in the way of those seeking happiness.
Filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki, born in 1957, grew up into “the age terrorized by the television." He's tried and managed to stick to the inseparable realities of the real world and the “deep screen” that only 35mm film makes possible light against the electronic machinations and the beauty of artisan tradition against technological overkill. He never used any other material, least of all video, and he is simply proud for having joined in the continuity and tradition of “real cinema."
His minimalist style is all his own and that of the great cinematographer of all his films, Timo Salminen; he never entered the Finnish Film School as he was suspected to be “too cynical." At the same time, his films are full of quotations, a part of a constant dialogue where film culture reveals realities of the human environment, society, and psyche as it is now, and as it was during the tender years of Aki’s childhood. Also, only vaguely known to foreign spectators, there is always an overwhelming presence of Finnish culture in his work.
Kaurismäki is well known for his many films, including Leningrad Cowboys Go To America (1989), Juha (1999), Le Havre (2011), and The Other Side of Hope (2017).
"It’s romantic and sweet-natured, in a deadpan style that in no way undermines or ironises the emotions involved and with some sharp things to say about contemporary politics." -Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
"The most consistent filmmaker working today might be Aki Kaurismäki, the Finnish master who produces a soft-spoken and mordant comedy every six years or so and never, ever misses the mark. Even by his high standards, Fallen Leaves is close to perfect." -David Sims, The Atlantic
Jury Prize - Cannes Film Festival
Best Director - Chicago International Film Festival
Tickets $8.75 ($8 cash at the door if available).
Half capacity
SOLD OUT
