Aki Kaurismäki in Contxt Kaurismäki in Historical Context
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Aki Kaurismäki and Scandinavian Auteur Cinema Today (1956- ) • Aki Kaurismäki in Context • Kaurismäki’s Aesthetic • Stages in Aki Kaurismäki’s Career – Aki and Mika – The Loser Trilogy – Leningrad Cowboys – Finland Trilogy • Cultural Political Relevance? Aki Kaurismäki in Contxt • Most influential Finnish Film director of Postwar period • Largest beneficiary of Finnish Film Foundation Funding • Auteur in Scandinavian cinema • New generation in Finnish cinema – Problematic film education – Career beginning in 1980s – Collaboration with brother Mika • Commentator on transition in Finnish and European culture – “Casino economy” 1980s – Fall of the Soviet Union 1991 – EU and globalization Aki Kaurismäki Kaurismäki in Historical Context: • Transformation of the Finnish Welfare State • European Common Market (EC) Integration 1985 – “Structural Transformation” – Changes in labor-capital relationships underpinning welfare state Helsinki’s Forum Shopping Center • Casino Economy late-80s • Collapse of USSR 1991 • Finnish “Depression” 1993- 1995 • EU Membership, globalization, and economic growth post- 1995 At the Helsinki Beach in Ariel (1988) 1 Kaurismäki’s Aesthetic • Setting – Urban – Ironic settings •Character – Marginalized – Shallow • Mise en scène – Temporal jumble – “Nostalgic” • B-Movie References B-Movie references in Ariel (1988) – Low-Key Lighting – Significance of Shadow • Musical commentary •Mode – Melodrama – Neo-Realism • Cultural Politics Lighting in Drifting Clouds (‘96) Cold Melodrama: The Loser Trilogy • Shadows in Paradise (1986) – Romance between a garbage truck driver and a cashier – Marginality amid wealth – Matti Pellonpää and Kati Outinen • Ariel (1988) – Generic hybrid – Cultural hybrid – Formal elements Matti Pellonpää in Shadows in Paradise • The Match Factory Girl (1990) – Minimalist – Fantasy – Neo-realism • Why the Loser Trilogy? – Nostalgia for 1970s working class life? – Critique of national economic transformation? Preparing for Departure, Ariel – Problematic humor undermines film’s cultural politics and makes films “cold” Genre Films, Jokes, and Politics: Leningrad Cowboys • Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989) – World’s worst Rock’n’Roll band – Road movie – Vision of the American south –Humor • Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses (1994) Leningrad Cowboys’ conflict – Parody – Journey through Europe – “Salvation,” the EU, and Siberia • Total Balalaika Show (1994) – Documentary – Post-Soviet Baltic – Leningrad Cowboys and the Red Army Choir – Set in Helsinki’s Cathedral Square • Road Movies and Rock’n’Roll Cowboys On the Road 2 Juha and The Finland Trilogy • Drifting Clouds (Kauas pilvet karkaavat, 1996) – Unemployment – Intersection with real economic problems – Visible social consciousness, in comparison with earlier films • Interlude Film Juha (1999) – Interpretation of classic 1911 novel – Silent film Whither the Welfare State? – Melodrama • The Man Without a Past (Mies vailla menneisyyttä, 2002) – Homelessness – Warm, recuperative humor – Continuity with earlier productions – Symbols of globalization – Nostalgia? • City Lights (Laitakaupungin valot, 2006) Juha (1999) Conclusion • Signature Qualities – Marginal characters – Love for pop culture – Transformation of social consciousness over the course of production over the course of career • Unique vision • Larger relevance of a marginal director making films about marginal characters? – Traditional film aesthetics – Hollywood film without Hollywood production values or stars 3.