2008 Woodie Awards
Deadpan fare offers enlightening life lessons
Finnish director continues trademark by setting new film in his native city of Helsinki
By: Matthew Freundlich
Issue date: 8/30/07 Section: Lifestyle
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Additionally, Kaurismaki's tapestry of self-consciously composed tableaux bears mentioning, not only for its striking color that both underlines and relieves the incessant deadpan that risks drowning the film but for its precise sense of place: the recurring sidewalk blocks and faceless offices and malls hem the action in and make Koistenen's struggle for hope commendable amongst the monotony that confines him. It all amounts to a film that hangs like a deadweight, and while the clarity is refreshing, it will likely grate on audiences looking for 90 minutes of sugar-coated distraction.
Of course, repetition is par for the course in Kaurismaki's brand of filmmaking. His dogged reverence for rock music (bands are usually given screen time) is fitting, given the genre's tenets and commonly practiced formulas are something of a corollary to his methodology: churning out downbeat numbers about, and for, the loser who can't catch a break. Like listening to a new album, appreciation will likely depend on the simple enjoyment of what Kaurismaki offers, whether or not it's faintly familiar.
"Lights in the Dusk" screens at the Webster University Film Series at 8 p.m. this weekend, Aug. 31 through Sept. 2, in the Winifred Moore Auditorium.
Of course, repetition is par for the course in Kaurismaki's brand of filmmaking. His dogged reverence for rock music (bands are usually given screen time) is fitting, given the genre's tenets and commonly practiced formulas are something of a corollary to his methodology: churning out downbeat numbers about, and for, the loser who can't catch a break. Like listening to a new album, appreciation will likely depend on the simple enjoyment of what Kaurismaki offers, whether or not it's faintly familiar.
"Lights in the Dusk" screens at the Webster University Film Series at 8 p.m. this weekend, Aug. 31 through Sept. 2, in the Winifred Moore Auditorium.
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