Fallen Leaves (Finnish: Dead Leaves), Aki Kaurismäki’s 20th feature, and the first after hiatus of six years, is a romantic dramedy that bears his unmistakable singular style.
Grade: B+ (**** out of *****)
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Theatrical release poster
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The film belongs to the auteur’s Proletariat series, which already includes Shadows in Paradise (1986), Ariel (1988), and The Match Factory Girl (1990).
Ansa, a single woman who lives in Helsinki, works in a supermarket, stocking the shelves. The equally lonely and depressed Holappa works as a sandblaster and frequently drinks on the job.
One night, co-worker and roommate Huotari proposes they go to a karaoke bar, where the drink heavily. Huotari is seeking to get noticed by a record label and fulfill his dream of being a professional singer.
Meanwhile, his singing gets complimented by Liisa, who is drinking with her friend and co-worker Ansa. While Huotari tries (and fails) to seduce Liisa, Holappa and Ansa notice each other, but do not talk.
This tale of two lonely blue-collar people is slender (running time is 81 minutes), compared to other Kaurismäki’s more complex narratives, but it exudes naturalistic charm, as well as a blend of low-key humor and some droll laugh-out-loud lines.
Spoiler Alert:
While Holappa is in a coma, she reads and talks to him, whereas Huotari, on the other hand, starts a relationship with Liisa while undergoing surgery to look younger.
The last scene is particularly memorable. Holappa wakes up and leaves the hospital with Ansa and her dog, but instead of asking Ansa for her name, he asks for the dog’s. To which she simply answers, “Chaplin.”
Intertextuality:
The movie contains several references to such films as Chaplin’s 1952 Limelight, David Lean’s 1945 classic Brief Encounter, and fellow friend and contemporary Jim Jarmusch’s The Dead Don’t Die.
Quirky yet always sincere, Fallen Leaves is a life-affirming tale of star-crossed lovers, demonstrating that it’s never too late to fall in love. The protagonists’ age, not to mention their ordinary looks, stand in sharp opposition to their counterparts in Hollywood films of similar genre.
Critical Status:
The film premiered in the main competition at the 76th Cannes Film Fest, where it won the third kudo, the Jury Prize.
It received critical acclaim in the U.S. and was named one of the top five international films of 2023 by the NBR.
Chosen as the Finnish entry for the Best International Feature Oscar, it was one of the 15 films in the shortlist, but did not make the final cut of five nominees.
