Laitakaupungin valot (Lights in the Dusk)
The third installment in the “Loser” trilogy by Aki Kaurismaki delivers pretty much what you expect after having seen the other two films.
The visual style again shows great love and nostalgia for the 50’s, the interior shots painted in lovely shades of muted red, green and blue. In this film the effect is slightly oddly juxtaposed as Kaurismaki shows alot of shots around the shopping malls and subways around central Helsinki, which clearly place us in the present day.
We get weighed down as we watch the loser protagonist trying to get ahead in life and the sparse dialogues with lengthy pauses and 1000 yard stares. There are moments of relief, like the glorious answer given to a girl when she asks the protagonist what prison was like. Although I think it only really works well in Finnish.
Not bad, but a bit tedious and obscure.