Fallen Leaves, 2023.
Written and Directed by Aki Kaurismäki.
Starring Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen, Janne Hyytiäinen, Nuppu Koivu, Alina Tomnikov, and Martti Suosalo.
SYNOPSIS:
In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles – from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.
Even during the bleakest, worst of times, human connection is vital. Taking place in Helsinki, which, for those not well-versed in geography, is the capital of Finland and near Ukraine and Russia, meaning the country itself has become a shelter for refugees fleeing what has become a horrific war zone (there are now over 60,000 Ukrainians living there.) However, there isn’t much happiness for anyone in writer/director Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves, where mundane, lonely, impoverished, day-to-day life is typically made more miserable by radio broadcasts of each latest ongoing atrocity committed by Russia.
Making matters worse, the working conditions of several jabs within Helsinki are harsh, unforgiving, and problematic, with the film beginning with Alma Pöysti’s Ansa being sacked from a supermarket retail job for sneaking some food beyond its sell-by date (complete with dreary cinematography from Timo Salminen to drive home the point. This causes an intensely observant stickler of a security guard to tattle on her, where an equally cruel superior decides to fire her, but not before her co-workers stand by her side and solace, confessing minor crimes and exclaiming they quit.
Between this, coming home to an empty home, the war, and loneliness, Ansa and her friend hit up a lovely karaoke joint (meaning the film is also filled with lovely songs sweetening and giving more depth to the encounters playing out on screen) where she senses an instant connection with Jussi Vatanen’s Holappa, a depressed, alcoholic sandblaster. What follows is a breezy and precisely constructed string of events (ranging from miscommunications to bad luck to genuine tragedy) that keeps one wondering if the universe is hell-bent on ensuring these two never end up together, depicted with a light, dryly comedic touch. The central performances are also exceptional, beaming emotion and texture.
There is compelling sadness here whenever these two are together but reminded of the horrors raging nearby, which quickly transitions into something quietly moving as they try and set that aside to focus on being present, living in the moment, and enjoying simple pleasures such as repertory showing of Jim Jarmusch’s recent dry zombie comedy The Dead Don’t Die. After one of them comments that it’s the funniest movie they have seen in a long time, there is an itch to throw up one’s hands in disbelief that anyone could realistically believe such a thing. The second thought is a combination of realizing that these people don’t get to have much fun and that Finland must be painfully slow at getting better comedies (none of this is an insult to The Dead Don’t Die, which is an okay movie, but also one that didn’t seem to type many people’s funniest films of the year list.)
Of course, it’s also romantic that cinema could unite two people going through such hardship when they need it most. There is even a dog later in the film named Chaplin, presumably to further emphasize the connective power cinema has had on these people.
Fallen Leaves also deals with Holappa struggling to overcome his alcohol addiction, trying his mighty best for Ansa. He, too, seems to be broken down from the war (and potentially more about his past we are not privy to) while also performing within hazardous working conditions where the machinery isn’t checked and replaced as much as it should be. It’s also that simplicity and disinterest in delving deeply into the lives of these characters that allows the cold film to pop with warmth.
The past is the past, and even if the present is a nightmare, there is still an opportunity for human connection that should not be taken for granted. Barriers and unexpected obstacles along the way might come across as convoluted plot writing, but it also enriches the messaging as we hope these two souls continue to find one another and provide some light. It’s not a complex film per se, although Fallen Leaves wrings so much smiling pleasure from its simplicity.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder is a member of the Chicago Film Critics Association and the Critics Choice Association. He is also the Flickering Myth Reviews Editor. Check here for new reviews, follow my Twitter or Letterboxd, or email me at MetalGearSolid719@gmail.com
