Rahikainen, a slaughterhouse worker and former law student in Helsinki, finds the drunk driver who killed his fiancée and coldly shoots him dead. He is seen by a young woman named Eeva, who says nothing to the police. Instead, she becomes involved in a love affair that cannot possibly have a future.

Transplanting Dostoyevsky’s novel to 1980s Finland, this fiction debut from Aki Kaurismäki plays fast and loose with its source material. Eschewing bleakness for humanism—with plenty of deadpan, absurdist touches—it’s a fascinating work in the development of the great director’s signature style.