IFFI-2008 - International Film Festival of India

AKI KAURISMAKI
IFFI-2008
Aki Kaurismäki started his career as a co-director in the films of his
elder brother Mika Kaurismäki. His debut as an independent
director was Crime and Punishment (1983), Dostoevsky's famous
crime story set in modern-day Helsinki. He gained worldwide fame
with his movie Leningrad Cowboys Go America. His style has been
influenced a lot by such directors as Jean-Pierre Melville and
Robert Bresson, as he relies on low-key acting and simple
cinematic storytelling to get his messages across. Critics have also
seen an influence from Rainer Werner Fassbinder but Kaurismäki -
a keen film buff himself - has said that he somehow never got
around to seeing any Fassbinder movies until recent years. His
movies have a unique downplayed humorous side that can also be
seen in the films of Jim Jarmusch, who has a cameo in Kaurismäki's
film Leningrad Cowboys Go America. Much of his work is centred
on his native city of Helsinki, particularly Calamari Union which is
largely set in the working class neighbourhood of Kallio, and the
trilogy that comprises Shadows in Paradise, Ariel, and The Match
Factory Girl. His vision of Helsinki is, it should be noted, both
critical and singularly unromantic. Indeed, the characters often
speak about how they wish to get away from Helsinki: some end up
in Mexico (Ariel), others in Estonia (Calamari Union and Take
Care of Your Scarf Tatjana). The setting is the 1980s, even in the
more recent movies. In terms of awards, Kaurismäki's most
successful movie to date has been The Man Without a Past. It won
the Grand Prix and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Cannes
Film Festival in 2002 and was nominated for an Academy Award in
the Best Foreign Language Film category in 2003. However,
Kaurismäki refused to attend the gala, noting that he didn't
particularly feel like partying in a nation that is currently in a state
of war. Kaurismäki's next film Lights in the Dusk was also chosen
to be Finland's nominee in the category for best foreign film.
Kaurismäki again decided to boycott the Awards and refused the
nomination as a protest against US President George W Bush's
foreign policy. In 2003, in one of his most famous protests,
Kaurismäki boycotted the 40th New York Film Festival backing his
Iranian fellow director, Abbas Kiarostami who was not given a US
visa in time for the festival.
Filmography:
Features: Crime and Punishment, 1983; Calamari Union, 1985;
Shadows in Paradise, 1986; Hamlet Goes Business, 1987; Ariel,
1988; Likaiset kädet (Les mains sales), 1989 (production for
Finnish TV); Leningrad Cowboys Go America, 1989; The Match
Factory Girl, 1990; I Hired a Contract Killer, 1990; La Vie de
Bohème, 1992; Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana, 1994; Leningrad
Cowboys Meet Moses, 1994; Drifting Clouds, 1996; Juha, 1999;
The Man Without a Past, 2002; Lights in the Dusk, 2006.
Documentaries: Saimaa-ilmiö (Saimaa Gesture), 1981; Total
Balalaika Show, 1994
Short films: Rocky VI, 1986 (8 min); Through the Wire, 1987 (6
min); Rich Little Bitch, 1987 (6 min); L.A. Woman, 1987 (5 min);
Those Were The Days, 1991 (5 min); These Boots, 1992 (5 min);
Välittäjä, 1996; Dogs Have No Hell, 2002 (10 minute episode in the
collaborative film Ten Minutes Older - The Trumpet)
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