Aki Kaurismaki documentary!

Just...the forms in his films are so perfect. Even his lesser films are so perfectly constructed.

liked Le Havre v much when i went to see it last night, and have now enjoyed reading the (too few!) posts on this thread (esp like tracer's comments about the way that the film's slightly elusive periodisation points to a larger universal/historical condition). the style of the film did strike me as v. bressonian - one of the v. first shots, of feet walking, seemed partic 'pickpockety' - but yeah, allied to that is kaurismaki's own beautiful whimsy and compassion. for a moment i thought that the 'miracle' at the end of the film was another 'lie' staged by arletty and the doctors for the husband's benefit, but the final scene w/ the cherry blossoms (v. Ozo-y!) seemed to suggest it was to be taken at 'face value'.

it was interesting seeing this film not long after seeing the Dardennes' The Kid With a Bike - two films about an adult unexpectedly caring for a vulnerable child, both with a great feel for location, and for the possibility of community, even now.

Kaurismaki and Takeshi Kitano are my two favourite working directors and they have many similarities i think

Two Finns are in a bar. After hours of silence, one man raises his glass to the other and says, “Cheers.” The other man snaps back, “I didn’t come here for conversation.”

this is one of my fave jokes by the way altho in my version dude says something like "I thought we were drinking, not chatting"

That joke could make me move to Finland.

nice. where does the joke come from?

loved The Other Side of Hope

its total absence from year-end discussion is a fuckin' crime

Agreed. I think he's so reliably great that people take him granted.

maybe he's not "serious" enough for some people

his movies never seem to get shown by the centrist dad arthouse clique in my city

this movie was amazing

sort of a diptych with le havre, really

it's like if jim jarmusch movies were actually good!

couldn't read this story without thinking of these films

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/jan/22/uk-home-office-tells-stateless-man-go-home?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

stunned that this is the only thread on kaurismaki on ilx

loved The Other Side of Hope

its total absence from year-end discussion is a fuckin' crime

― ice cream social justice (Dr Morbius), Sunday, December 10, 2017 9:49 PM (five months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

otmfm

I need to watch Calamari Union.

the Aki Kaurismäki poll

NYC retro

http://metrograph.com/series/series/215/total-kaurismki-show

Wow, nice. Odds are high that I'll check this out on Saturday, and scanning the schedule it looks like that day they're showing the only three I haven't seen (I think) - Crime & Punishment, Hamlet, and Calamari Union. Any recs on which one I should pick?

I've seen Hamlet, liked it. CU is on Vimeo.

ah man what a drag, I would've tried to come up to NYC for this but so soon. all 35mm! fuck me running

Yeah I really wish I could be around to catch more of the color films in 35, like Drifting Clouds.

For those unable to get to NYC, this Region 2 blu ray set is available fairly cheaply, in the UK at least:

https://curzonartificialeye.com/the-aki-kaurism%C3%A4ki-collection/

are they not showing La Vie de Boheme? It's got no dates next to it

They must be... perhaps some scheduling dilemma soon to be resolved.

actually, the Calamari Union that is on Vimeo is a cheap US remake! so I missed it. Fuck.

priority number one was drifting clouds but I couldn't make it because of exhibiting at Mocca festival. However, I am going to man without a past tonight.

Drifting Clouds was a treat, but I was a little baffled by the boite ex machina that resolved things

gonna try to make Juha tomw night

I made it to Match Factory Girl, which was wonderful in 35mm. On the big screen, I had a lot of fun being able to observe the micro-changes in expression on Kati Outinen's face. As always with AK I discovered some laff moments that I'd never noticed before.

How's the new one?

Same Aki, different day. I loved it & laughed a lot, easily top ten of the year for me.

would be interested to know the bingo score per this thread

In every Aki Kaurismäki film ever

The female lead is the spitting image of a young Kati Outinen, even

Yeah, it really is objectively Just Another Kaurismaki Film but somehow this one really hit with me - the warmth and the no-nonsense portrayal of how the working class gets fucked over and the lobby cards.

great soundtrack too

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9W1n6kygmI
Takedan kehtolaulu (Takeda No Komoriuta)