Mar. 27: Kuolleet lehdet / Fallen Leaves

Wednesday, Mar. 27, 2024
7 pm @ Galaxy Cinemas, Sault Ste. Marie, ON

Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Finland/Germany 2023
Finnish; 81 minutes

In Helsinki, two lonely souls Ansa (Alma Pöysti) and Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) meet by chance in a karaoke bar. She’s a cashier, moving from job to job. He’s a manual laborer, also going from job to job. They’re both shy, but drawn to each other. As the bond between Ansa and Holappa deepens, the couple’s chance for happiness feels all the more precious against news reports on the war in Ukraine. A hilariously deadpan, fervently humanist tragicomedy, Fallen Leaves is a celebration of the solace we may find in each other, if we’re brave enough to try.

A thoroughly entertaining, completely unpredictable love story. Fallen Leaves is one of the best films I’ve seen this year. Leonard Maltin, leonardmaltin.com

Kaurismäki is back. … The same droll humour and keen social awareness that have defined his work since Leningrad Cowboys go America, in 1989, are now put in service of a lovely, star-crossed romance. Tara Brady, Irish Times

This is a crisp autumn breeze of a movie, refreshing and invigorating even when it seems like things are falling apart. Barry Hertz, Globe and Mail