Fallen Leaves

Fallen Leaves - a film by Aki Kaurismäki
Fallen Leaves - a film by Aki Kaurismäki
Fallen Leaves - a film by Aki Kaurismäki
Fallen Leaves - a film by Aki Kaurismäki
Fallen Leaves - a film by Aki Kaurismäki
AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE SEASON IN CINEMAS NOW
Fallen Leaves - a film by Aki Kaurismäki
Wonderful. Droll and very cool, it's a film with a rare beauty. So enjoyable, insightful and darkly funny. Go see it!
If you’ve never seen anything by this idiosyncratic, Finnish auteur, this is a good place to start. It’s futile trying to accurately describe it, it has to be experienced at first-hand to appreciate its droll humour, its silences and pauses, its expressive use of colour, its pervasive retro feel. Anyone with a heart will succumb to its down-at-heel charm.
The best film of the year. A masterpiece... Sometimes small miracles appear in the form of movies. Kaurismäki works magic.
Utterly delightful. The best big-screen romance of the year. The kind of movie that’s so charming, you want to run it back the moment it’s over.
A gem. Funny, sad and satirical all at once. Like all great films, Fallen Leaves makes us ponder deeply our philosophy of life.
A restrained, quirky and droll love story for those that understand that day-to-day romances are often understated. It’s the small wins that count. Kaurismaki has created a space that - through its formalism and detachment - courses with humanity, giving its characters moments of grace in a tough world.
The year's most succinctly perfect film.
Delightful. A tender, beautifully directed love story.
Gorgeous. A heartfelt cinephile ode to the possibility of love among the working classes that threads the needle between a style of ironic detachment and emotions that are big, bold and instantly affecting.
Beguiling and delightful. I found myself rooting for the hero and heroine here in an uncomplicated way - there is a heartmelting connection between these two lonely people. A film with a big heart - it fills you with a feelgood glow.
Sublime. There’s a depth of feeling that’s absent from most movies that would be lumped into the romantic-comedy genre, along with some of the funniest deadpan humour I’ve seen in a movie in ages. It’s a hopeful film set in a hardened world. You’re going to fall hard for it.
An utter pleasure from beginning to end.
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Cast: Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen
Duration: 81mins
Country of Origin: Finland
M
Mature themes and incidental coarse language
Wonderful. Droll and very cool, it's a film with a rare beauty. So enjoyable, insightful and darkly funny. Go see it!
If you’ve never seen anything by this idiosyncratic, Finnish auteur, this is a good place to start. It’s futile trying to accurately describe it, it has to be experienced at first-hand to appreciate its droll humour, its silences and pauses, its expressive use of colour, its pervasive retro feel. Anyone with a heart will succumb to its down-at-heel charm.
The best film of the year. A masterpiece... Sometimes small miracles appear in the form of movies. Kaurismäki works magic.
Utterly delightful. The best big-screen romance of the year. The kind of movie that’s so charming, you want to run it back the moment it’s over.
A gem. Funny, sad and satirical all at once. Like all great films, Fallen Leaves makes us ponder deeply our philosophy of life.
A restrained, quirky and droll love story for those that understand that day-to-day romances are often understated. It’s the small wins that count. Kaurismaki has created a space that - through its formalism and detachment - courses with humanity, giving its characters moments of grace in a tough world.
The year's most succinctly perfect film.
Delightful. A tender, beautifully directed love story.
Gorgeous. A heartfelt cinephile ode to the possibility of love among the working classes that threads the needle between a style of ironic detachment and emotions that are big, bold and instantly affecting.
Beguiling and delightful. I found myself rooting for the hero and heroine here in an uncomplicated way - there is a heartmelting connection between these two lonely people. A film with a big heart - it fills you with a feelgood glow.
Sublime. There’s a depth of feeling that’s absent from most movies that would be lumped into the romantic-comedy genre, along with some of the funniest deadpan humour I’ve seen in a movie in ages. It’s a hopeful film set in a hardened world. You’re going to fall hard for it.
An utter pleasure from beginning to end.

OFFICIAL SELECTION – 2024 ACADEMY AWARDS – Best International Feature (Finland)
2024 GOLDEN GLOBES NOMINEE (x2)- Best Actress (Pöysti), Best Intl Film
WINNER – 2023 CANNES FILM FESTIVAL - Jury Prize
WINNER - 2023 FIPRESCI GRAND PRIX (International Federation of Film Critics) - Best Film Of The Year
NOMINEE (x5!) – 2023 EUROPEAN FILM AWARDS - Best Film, Director, Actress, Actor & Screenwriter
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 2023 SCANDINAVIAN FILM FESTIVAL (Special Presentation)
OFFICIAL SELECTION – 2023 SYDNEY FILM FESTIVAL (In Competition)
CLOSING NIGHT SELECTION - 2023 NEW ZEALAND INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 2023 NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 2023 TELLURIDE FILM FESTIVAL
OFFICIAL SELECTION - 2023 BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL

Hailed as the best-reviewed film of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival - where it topped Screen International’s prestigious critics’ poll - the beguiling new comedic romance from celebrated auteur Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre, Drifting Clouds, The Other Side Of Hope) follows two lost souls who meet by chance in the Helsinki night and then try, in turbulent times, to find companionship.

Ansa (Alma Pöysti) works at a supermarket, where the job is so badly paid that she takes home expired sandwiches for dinner. Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) is a metalworker, labouring in a job so hazardous he’s sure it will kill him, so he drinks through the day, and then again at night. Meanwhile, the radio constantly carries news about the nearby war in Ukraine.

One evening, against his will, Holappa is dragged to a karaoke bar by a friend. “Tough guys don’t sing”, he says. But karaoke night is also a night for romance, and when Holappa meets the shy Ansa, there’s an immediate spark. But life being what it is, a variety of obstacles conspire to get in the way…

With his trademark deadpan humour, minimalist dialogue and retro aesthetic, Kaurismäki's latest delight showcases his unrivalled mastery for depicting down-on-their-luck characters in all their complexity, and finding humour and optimism in the unlikeliest of circumstances. In a time of economic disparity, war and uncertainty, FALLEN LEAVES is a valuable reminder of the importance of love and connection; once again Finland’s most-beloved director has delivered, in spades.

Fallen Leaves - a film by Aki Kaurismäki

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