So, I saw the new film by Aki on friday. It completes the "Finland" trilogy started by Drifting Clouds and Man Without a Past. The first part was about unemployment, the second about homelessness, so this last part is about loneliness.
On the whole, I loved the film. As one could expect, it's stylistically and thematically similiar to older Aki films, sometimes even to the point that it almost seems like he's parodying his work. The dialogue is cut down to the absolute minimum, as are any facial expressions of the characters, with few exceptions.
Whereas Drifting Clouds and Man Without a Past both were films with strong themes of solidarity between members of the working class and the good nature of people, one finds very little of either in Laitakaupungin Valot. The hero, Koistinen, who works as a securityguard, is made fun of by his fellow workers, is ignored by his employers and eventually betrayed in the most horrible sense imaginable by a woman whom he falls in love with. Still, I find it hard to describe the film as particularily depressing, as it seems more focused on showing how in the end, it's impossible to defeat a character like Koistinen. He can take whatever punishment is dealt upon him, be it a beating or a jail sentence. And maybe in the end, his luck turns for the better. That's left to the imagination of the viewer.
I doubt this'll be as popular as The Man Without a Past was, as this isn't nearly as friendly to the audiences, but it's certainly amongst the finest works by Aki so far.
