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Aki Kaurismäki's Dead Leaves, a jury prize drunk on alcohol and love

2023-05-27T19:20:06.092Z

Highlights: Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki was crowned for his beautiful love story Les Feuilles mortes. He promised in 2017 not to touch a camera, to "start living his own life again" The 66-year-old filmmaker, represented by his actors Alma Poysti and Jussi Vatanen, received the jury prize. In 2016, a new tribute from the Croisette, he received the Carrosse d'or awarded by the Filmmakers' Fortnight.


Already back from the Croisette, the Finnish filmmaker who loves tramps, rockers and simple hearts, was crowned for his beautiful love story Les Feuilles mortes. He received the Grand Prix in 2001 for L'Homme sans passé.


Aki Kaurismäki has, among other qualities, that of being fickle. He promised in 2017 not to touch a camera, to "start living his own life again". Six years later, he was back, presenting Les Feuilles mortes in Cannes. A caustic and tender love story, which smells of alcohol, tobacco and melancholy. The jury, it was expected, was sensitive to this return to grace. The Swede Ruben Östlund, its president, considers him one of his favorite Scandinavian directors. The 66-year-old filmmaker, represented by his actors Alma Poysti and Jussi Vatanen, received the jury prize. Twenty-one years after being awarded the Grand Prix for The Man Without a Past. Which had also earned the actress Kati Ouninen the prize for female interpretation. In 2016, a new tribute from the Croisette, he received the Carrosse d'or awarded by the Filmmakers' Fortnight.

In Les Feuilles mortes, Nordic melancholy permeates the screen. Ansa is employed in a supermarket under the gaze of a suspicious security guard. Holappa is a worker under the gaze of a sneaky boss. These two loners meet in karaoke. From failed appointments to job setbacks, their story unfolds in small steps. Cinephilic winks, brandy, chain cigarettes, minimalist dialogues... We find the paw of this singular, humanist, poetic and funny filmmaker, whom the Helsinki film school had refused for this reason: "Too cynical".

White wine and dark ideas

Aki Kurismäki learned cinema alone, squatting in the city's cinematheque. As a young man, he worked odd jobs, from postman to worker. This is where he meets his future characters. Released in 1983, his first film was an adaptation of Crimes and Punishments. He then toured at a steady pace: Shadows in Paradise (1987), Ariel (1988), La fille aux allumettes (1990), Tiens ton foulard, Tatiana (1993). He gives his letters of nobility to the left behind, like a modern-day Chaplin. "I always try to make tragedies, but I don't know why, it makes the audience laugh. I'm reduced to crying alone! ", he used to repeat.

The excessive Kurismäki, which has long dipped its black ideas in white wine, marked the spirits in 2011 with Le Havre, with Jean-Pierre Léaud, Pierre Etaix and André Wilms. A social chronicle shot in the French port. Same humor in The Other Side of Hope, Silver Bear in Berlin in 2017. An Iraqi refugee advised one of his companions to smile in order to integrate. Because in Finland, he said, those who are sad are expelled... The filmmaker eventually found an explanation for his unalterable taste for comedy: "What would be the point of being pessimistic when all hope is lost?"

Source: lefigaro

All news articles on 2023-05-27

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