Lights in the Dusk
(Laitakaupungin valot)
With Janne Hyytiainen, Ilkka Koivula, Maria Jarvenhelmi.
Finland/Germany/France, 2006, 35mm, color, 78 min.
Finnish and Russian with English subtitles.
Print source: Strand Releasing
The predictably rewarding final installment of Aki Kaurismäki's trilogy about outcasts follows its predecessors' themes of unemployment and homelessness with that of loneliness. Things begin to look up for shy nightwatchman Koistinen (Hyytiäinen) when he meets Mirja (Järvenhelmi), who seems to respond sympathetically to Koistinen's slightly old-fashioned manner. Kaurismäki's delightfully delicate cautionary fable charts his unassuming hero's descent into an unforeseen nightmare of deceit and violence with a characteristically low-key blend of humane compassion and deadpan mordant humour. A poignant reminder of the lot of the emotional 'have-nots' in our world, this dark jewel of a film glows with genuine warmth and a small but enriching glimmer of hope.