Review: Fallen Leaves

Image courtesy of The Match Factory.

Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki's films typically focus on downbeat characters and have an overall deadpan vibe to them. The filmmaker with whom he, perhaps, shares the most cinematic DNA is Jim Jarmusch and, sure enough, there's a scene in his latest, "Fallen Leaves," in which the two lead characters go to a movie together to watch a Jarmusch picture.

Kaurismaki's characters are often people down on their luck who either find a small piece of solace in a gloomy world or instead realize that they will forever be stuck in the mire. "Fallen Leaves" is one of the former and tells the tale of a grocery store worker named Ansa (Alma Poysti) who is fired from her job when a jerk of a security guard rats her out to her jerk of a boss for pocketing a food item that was going to be thrown into the trash anyway.

Meanwhile, Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) bounces from construction job to construction job, often getting fired for seeming - and likely being - inebriated on the job. He frequents a dive bar with a pal, Huotari (Janne Hyytiainen), who tries to convince Holappa to sing karaoke. There they meet Ansa and one of her friends and Huotari fails to score with the other woman.

Later, Holappa and Ansa run into each other and make plans for a date, which ends up being the aforementioned Jarmusch movie. However, their plans to connect again keep failing due to various circumstances - he loses her number and fails to show up at an appointed date and time and, later, a more serious intervention occurs.

Kaurismaki's more recent films have included some political commentary, such as the lovely "Le Havre," in which a community hides an immigrant boy from the authorities. "Fallen Leaves" is a little less overt, other than running commentary on the radio about the war in Ukraine. However, one can read this inclusion - and pair it with the unkind manner in which Ansa is fired and other misbehavior from minor characters - and see how Kaurismaki sets this love story against the backdrop of a world that's increasingly unkind. 

While the news on the radio makes it obvious when the picture is taking place, Kaurismaki includes his typical retro touches, such as the surf rock music that populates the soundtrack and the old-fashioned interiors in the film's bars, restaurants, and homes.

As Ansa and Holappa's burgeoning relationship has its ups and downs - mostly caused by near misses due to fate or bad circumstances - Ansa finds another bright spot in her life after adopting a dog that almost becomes the film's third main character. There's a lovely shot at the end when she and Holappa are walking and he asks about the dog's name, only to receive an answer that feels absolutely right.

Kaurismaki's films and characters might have a downbeat vibe, but the bright spot they provide in an increasingly dark world - as evidenced by the radio playing throughout the film - is due to the possibility of hope that his characters manage to retain despite job losses, wars, and failed romantic foibles. This movie is truly a pleasure.