The films of Aki Kaurismäki are always about "losers", but it is a different kinnd of losers as in the films of Ken Loach.
In the films of Ken Loach the main characters are the victim of a specific kind of enemy, being an employer ("Sorry, we missed you", 2019), the government ("I, Daniel Blake", 2016) or a loan shark ("Raining Stones", 1993).
In the films of Aki Kaurismäki the main characters are the victims of a more abstract fate. They have failed to keep pace with their time, and this gives his films also a nostalgic flavor.
Take "Drifting clouds". This film is about a couple of which the man (tram driver Lauri played by Kari Väänänen) loses his job when the public transport system is curtailed and the woman (waitress Ilona played by Kaurismäki regular Kati Outinen) loses her job when her restaurant goes bankrupt.
The last evening of this restaurant is a very poignant scene. We see the advanced age of the clientele, and immediatly understand what has gone wrong with this restaurant.
Music plays a prominent role in the films of Kaurismäki. Most of the time in the form of a rock and roll band of which the members are slightly seedy. Another form frequently used is a folksinger which sings a Finnish variant of the German 'schlager". In "Drifting clouds" Kaurismäki again uses the folk singer. During the last evening of the restaurant he sings about the transiency of life.
Ilona doesn't lose faith and starts her own restaurant. The final scene is the first night of this restaurant. This scene is a beautiful counterpoint to the last evening of the old restaurant. This scene also showed me how much I already cared for the main characters. When it initially remained silent in the restaurant it made me as nervous as the owners.
In the films of Ken Loach the main characters are the victim of a specific kind of enemy, being an employer ("Sorry, we missed you", 2019), the government ("I, Daniel Blake", 2016) or a loan shark ("Raining Stones", 1993).
In the films of Aki Kaurismäki the main characters are the victims of a more abstract fate. They have failed to keep pace with their time, and this gives his films also a nostalgic flavor.
Take "Drifting clouds". This film is about a couple of which the man (tram driver Lauri played by Kari Väänänen) loses his job when the public transport system is curtailed and the woman (waitress Ilona played by Kaurismäki regular Kati Outinen) loses her job when her restaurant goes bankrupt.
The last evening of this restaurant is a very poignant scene. We see the advanced age of the clientele, and immediatly understand what has gone wrong with this restaurant.
Music plays a prominent role in the films of Kaurismäki. Most of the time in the form of a rock and roll band of which the members are slightly seedy. Another form frequently used is a folksinger which sings a Finnish variant of the German 'schlager". In "Drifting clouds" Kaurismäki again uses the folk singer. During the last evening of the restaurant he sings about the transiency of life.
Ilona doesn't lose faith and starts her own restaurant. The final scene is the first night of this restaurant. This scene is a beautiful counterpoint to the last evening of the old restaurant. This scene also showed me how much I already cared for the main characters. When it initially remained silent in the restaurant it made me as nervous as the owners.