Aki Kaurismäki delivers a late addition to his ‘Proletariat Trilogy’ with “Fallen Leaves,” a story about how hope is never lost and a tiny spark will make someone be their better selves. It is plotted similarly to some of his previous work. Yet this one holds a special place in his filmographies because of the director’s panache of depicting modern palpable emotions via silence and expressions rather than words.
Aki Kaurismäki is more than a special filmmaker; he is the curator of some of the most humility-filled and charming pictures released in the past couple of decades, with films like “Drifting Clouds” (1996), “Le Havre” (2011), and “The Other Side of Hope” (2017). There’s just a unique and lovely feeling that comes with watching one of his films, even if most of his films are somewhat similar to one another. Other directors may want to avoid doing a similar project to the one that came before or the movies that initiated their career. Kaurismäki doesn’t mind. He continues to make his minimalist yet effective drama comedies drenched in equal amounts of melancholy and glee. All of them contain similar settings and color palettes. And I haven’t seen one of his works that doesn’t end up working on all levels. They always remain effortlessly engaging and satisfying.
A late addition to Kaurismäki’s Proletariat Trilogy
It has been rumored that Kaurismäki may retire after his 20th feature film. And whether or not that may be true, he deserves his flowers as he’s one of the best Finnish filmmakers that the world has ever seen. He inspired many directors to create minimalist yet intricate pieces with deadpan comedies, for example, his good friend and independent cinema hero, Jim Jarmusch. For the time being, Kaurismäki is still making films. His latest one, “Fallen Leaves,” is dubbed as a late addition to the director’s Proletariat Trilogy, a small series of films (“Shadows in Paradise,” “Ariel,” “The Match Factory Girl”) made throughout a four-year span from 1986 to 1990 which told touching stories about working-class castaways. While all of these films share a similarity in their plotting and humanistic aura with one another, there’s still plenty to admire within their simplicity.
Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen in “Fallen Leaves” (Photo: NYFF 2023).
In terms of “Fallen Leaves,” it is the perfect remedy for your melancholic blues. At its core, the film is about a boy meeting a girl—two lonesome, quiet souls, trying to get the best out of their days without entering into a melancholic episode, who meet by chance and potentially fall in love with one another. But there’s more than meets the eye when you consider the atmosphere and feeling it leaves you after watching. The two characters who lead the pack are construction worker Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) and recently hired supermarket cashier Ansa (Alma Pöysti). They don’t know it yet. And by this point in the movie, they don’t know each other. But they have similar qualities. Both of them are struggling financially, so they often drop one underpaid to another. They spend most of their time alone, fending for themselves daily.
A distinctive narrative style
Holappa is struggling with a series of depression induced by his constant drinking. Meanwhile, Ansa is trying to earn money to keep the apartment she inherited from her grandmother. She can’t even make enough capital to keep the lights on. The two of them give themselves up individually in the despondent catharsis of everyday life in silence. The days often feel like a blur until one special night that will change their lives. During a trip with his co-worker Huotari (Janne Hyytiäinen) to a Finnish karaoke bar, Holappa finally meets Ansa. They don’t talk to each other in those specific moments. But the glances the two of them share are enough for a first instance, considering their personas. Fate separates and unites them repeatedly. Yet the pairing tries to survive the days together as news about an ongoing war blasts around the radio.
After many decades doing very minimalist and similar films, Kaurismäki doesn’t seem to be losing any steam at all. He keeps his distinctive visual and narrative style pretty much intact and with the same lingering warm effectiveness. He remains with the same vision of connecting our physical and psychological struggles of the daily living anomalies in an easily attachable and perceivable way. One of his best assets is how he depicts the anguish and beauty of silence. Kaurismäki often lets his characters’ actions do more than words, and in “Fallen Leaves,” that is no exception. After muttering less than a handful of words, their facial expressions are worth more than a monologue or even a lengthy sequence of discourse. That’s because the screenplay and the actors easily co-relate with one another.
Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen in “Fallen Leaves” (Photo: NYFF 2023).
A minimalist and heart-warming picture
They find a beautiful space of naturalistic expressions. It does not pierce your soul but warms it due to their relatable and charming nature. It is rare to find films that instantly cure you of your melancholic or saddened feelings. And Kaurismäki has finely tuned an array of cinematic skills, leading him to make enchanting tragicomedies. One of the most recent ones was Céline Sciamma’s “Petite Maman” and now I’ll have to throw this one into the mix. It may have to do with perfect timing. Everything wasn’t going the way I wanted it to, which was bumming me out quite a lot. However, the appearance of a person I hold dear and a small international feature managed to fix things up.
I believe “Fallen Leaves” is one of his most touching, even if it feels similar to what we have seen before from the Finnish director. I think it goes far beyond its array of cinematic references. There are hints of silent cinema (Charlie Chaplin) and one of the best love stories of all time, “Brief Encounter,” and also a deadpan comedic effect that Jarmusch would hold dearly. The reason why it remains even more effective than what came before in the 80s and 90s is how he shapes these characters and how the two of them grow even in emotional and external conditions that deteriorate their connection.
A film that caresses your soul
We see Ansa and Holappa leave their shells and improve their beings because they improve each other. Despite everything that is happening, the romantic story beats “Fallen Leaves” is lifted by the rarity of finding this particular person and the effect it causes once you realize that this person brings you a high amount of happiness. After looking at life with a side-eye glance because you think everything looks gray, receiving a tiny spark in your life helps a person be the best version of themselves. I have experienced such a sensation in recent years. This is why this film affected me in a way that his other works haven’t, even though I enjoy them a lot.
After weeks, months, or maybe even years feeling incomplete, a person arrives out of the blue and caresses your soul—this is what Kaurismäki’s latest did to me. It’s a tale about lonely people in a world that’s slowly being drained of its life and color. Yet, when another lonely person arrives and catches your eye, glancing at one another until a quick word is spoken, the spirit feels like it is being set off its prison-like entrapment.
“Fallen Leaves” is currently playing at the New York Film Festival. The festival goes from September 29th – October 15th. Join us for continual coverage.
