Lonely garbageman Nikkander (Matti Pellonpää) finds himself directionless after losing his friend and co-worker to a sudden heart attack; unlikely redemption comes in the form of plain supermarket cashier Ilona (Kati Outinen, in her first of many performances for Kaurismäki), with whom he begins a tentative love affair. Boiling down what is essentially a romantic comedy to a series of spare and beautiful gestures, Kaurismäki conjures an unexpected delight that finds hope blossoming even amid gray surroundings. —The Criterion Collection
Aki Kaurismäki did a wide variety of jobs including postman, dish-washer and film critic, before forming a production and distribution company, Villealfa (in homage to Jean-Luc Godard’s Alphaville, une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution (1965)) with his older brother Mika Kaurismäki, also a film-maker. Both Aki and Mika are prolific film-makers, and together have been responsible for one-fifth of the total output of the Finnish film industry since the early 1980s, though Aki’s work has found more favour abroad. His films are very short (he says a film should never run longer than 90 minutes, and many of his films are nearer 70), eccentric parodies of various genres (road movies, film noir, rock musicals), populated by lugubrious hard-drinking Finns and set to eclectic soundtracks, typically based around ‘50s rock’n’roll.
In the 1990s he has made films in Britain (I Hired a Contract Killer (1990)) and France (La vie de bohème (1992)). —IMDb
Has a lot of the same elements as his The Man Without a Past, but is much more convincing and fun. A more simple and homble scandinavian Jarmush indeed.
It's a line from the movie. It's his response to her question about whether or not he can support both of them. "Small potatoes" means "no big deal."
Like a Finnish Jim Jarmusch. Shares a lot with Stranger than Paradise, though with color and faster editing despite similar pace and nuance.
http://travissaves.blogspot.com/2011/06/shadows-in-paradise-aki-kaurismakis.html
While many classic love stories take about 2 hours to get their point across, Aki Kaurismaki does it in just… read review
Another solid black comedy offering from Kaurismaki. Dry humour, ellipses and extensive music seem to be his trademarks. And I hope they are because he is a master at employing them.
Shadows… read review
In these economic times, it almost seems appropriate to watch an Aki Kaurismaki film, especially if you need a laugh. An early deadpan gem by Kaurismaki, this established what was to be his trademark… read review
