Assessment: ‘Fallen Leaves’ tells a captivating story on find out how to love in occasions of worldwide anxiousness

How do we discover love within the time of battle and world battle? In his latest movie, “Fallen Leaves,” Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki solutions this query in a quaint, European manner. This movie explores anxiousness and our innate want for love in the course of the bleakest occasions of Ukrainian battle.

A Cannes Jury Prize Winner and Finland’s entry for finest worldwide function to the Academy Awards, the story is ready in a dreamlike model of the fashionable world. It follows two disillusioned working-class loners as they hop from one job to the following, forming a deep connection alongside the best way. Ansa (Alma Pöysti), a zero-hour contract grocery store stocker, will get fired for making an attempt to steal an expired sandwich at work. When she walks right into a karaoke bar, she meets the alcoholic development employee Holappa (Jussi Vatanen). As they spend extra time collectively, a pleasant romance develops between two social outcasts and basic rom-com tropes ensue, starting from kitschy film dates to misunderstandings and reconciliation.

“Fallen Leaves” is a delicate love story. Kaurismäki deliberately avoids capturing moments of bodily affection or an extravagant declaration of affection, and his writing is extraordinarily dry in each its drama and humor. His indifferent method to narrative additionally applies to the setting, which takes place in a model of modern-day Europe that also makes use of dated know-how — the characters use landline telephones and old style radios. Information of world occasions, just like the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, are coated solely on radio applications and print newspapers, versus our fashionable TV or social media. His interesting use of retro know-how signifies that the anxiousness of imminent battle just isn’t particular to anybody second in time, however reasonably a extra common feeling that has echoed all through each technology.

Regardless of the miserable setting and stiff tone, the movie has an added layer of much-needed levity, due to Kaurismaki’s capability to seek out deadpan humor within the mundane. Whereas this dryness works for the movie’s comedy, it does stunt the depth of the connection between the 2 leads. Each Pöysti and Vatanen give extremely charming and transferring performances of two broken-yet-persevering individuals you’ll be able to’t assist however root for. However their characters really feel underdeveloped at occasions.

“Fallen Leaves” sometimes falters resulting from its construction, and Kaurismäki’s curiosity within the mundane can really feel self-indulgent. He pushes vital character moments to the aspect in favor of reveling in his stylized world. The director’s give attention to his stylistic body and look doesn’t enable any room for his characters to grow to be absolutely realized. If the movie allowed for extra connections with the characters, their journeys would have been extra fulfilling. As an alternative, the movie’s conclusion appears unsatisfying at finest.

Angelika Movie Middle is thought for the nostalgic Sixties-’70s aesthetic of his filmmaking. A staunch critic of digital cinematography, the director makes use of 35mm movie inventory to provide the movie the aesthetic of an older image. As such, “Fallen Leaves” feels lived-in and textured. It’s a delicate deal with for the eyes and ears with the crackles and pops of the audio tracks, and the observable movie grain is simply achievable with analog know-how. With its superbly textured manufacturing design and pastel atmosphere, the movie evokes the golden age of European cinema. Characters sing and dance in colourful retro bars and watch films in small single-screen cinemas, giving the movie endearing nostalgia. 

The position of modern-day politics within the shadows of the protagonists’ lives can be bolstered by the classic setting. At occasions, Ansa or Holappa activate the radio or learn the paper in regards to the waging battle in Ukraine. Kaurismäk quietly feedback on the anxiousness of impending world battle — noting the Russian menace on Finland — and learns to hold on regardless. He’s much less desirous about world political crises than he’s within the disillusionment that it breeds. Via this recurring theme, the movie creates a relatable stance on politics and a want to seek out solace in a crumbling world. 

Regardless of the structural problems with the movie, Kaurismäki’s “Fallen Leaves” is a captivating and pleasant existential disaster that in the end feels alive and hopeful within the fashionable world. With its intensely interesting visuals and nice laughs, this surprisingly endearing reflection on connection and adversity is an ideal movie for grappling with our actuality.

Fallen Leaves opens in theaters in New York on Nov. 17, and is enjoying now on the Angelika Movie Middle.

Contact Gabriel Murray at [email protected].