A One Mann’s Movies review of “Fallen Leaves ” (2023) (from the London Film Festival).
Original Finnish title: Kuolleet lehdet
(I’m republishing this review – first published on September 28th – since “Fallen Leaves” is now showing in UK cinemas).
When I worked for IBM in sales support in the 1990’s I occasionally had assignments to Helsinki. There was an IBMer there that I worked with called Kari Hartikainen. Kari was ex-Finnish-SAS and the most rectangular man I ever met. “Built like a brick shit-house” as my dad might have said. He also had the most dry sense of humour, delivering hilarious lines in the most deep bass tones with a deadpan expression. I remember a classic line he delivered after a software demo to a customer went badly. “Awwww, Booobb” he drawled, at subwoofer frequencies and without the flicker of a smile. “Thiiis software stuff. Everythiiing I touch it turns to shit! Eet is like a Polish horror movie!” I looked him up on LinkedIn but couldn’t find him (at least, not that one!) The reason I recount this will be obvious if you catch “Fallen Leaves” (and I highly recommend you do!) For it is full of similarly lugubrious Finns delivering hilariously comic lines in a deadpan manner.
Bob the Movie Man Rating:
Plot Summary:
Ansa (Alma Pöysti) is a lonely single woman working in a supermarket and returning each night to her dark and sparse bed-sit and a microwaved dinner. Holappa (Jussi Vatanen), also single and lonely, is a manual worker with an alcohol problem. His only social life is sharing a beer with his friend Huotari (Janne Hyytiäinen). But when Ansa and Holappa accidentally meet at a karaoke evening, there is a spark of attraction between the odd couple.
Certification:
UK: PG; US: NR. (The BBFC shows a PG rating against this movie but with no further details yet).
Talent:
Starring: Alma Pöysti, Janne Hyytiäinen, Jussi Vatanen, Martti Suosalo, Nuppu Koivu.
Directed by: Aki Kaurismäki.
Written by: Aki Kaurismäki.
Twitter Handle: #FallenLeavesMovie.
Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) with his friend Huotari (Janne Hyytiäinen). “Depressive ABBA” (actually Maustetytöt) are playing in the background! (Source: Sputnik).
“Fallen Leaves” Review:
Positives:
- “Fallen Leaves” is why I love the cinema. Just like the recent “Past Lives” the story, simple as it is, grabbed me, sucked me in and delighted me.
- The script is full of wonderful comedy – it smashes the 6-laughs test. Many of these exchanges occur between Holappa and Huotari in the bars they frequent. They happen in a gloriously deadpan way, reminding me (for UK readers) of those “Alas Smith and Jones” head-to-head exchanges between Mel Smith and Griff Rhys-Jones. “Tough guys don’t sing” declares Holappa at the karaoke bar. “You’re not a tough guy!” replies Huotari. But there are also funny exchanges between Alma and her friend Liisa (Nuppu Koivu). “All men are swine” complains Alma. “No” replies Liisa, “Swine are intelligent and sympathetic”.
- There’s a wonderfully dark canvas against which the love story is cast. Alma’s radio blasts out the latest Russian atrocities in Ukraine; bar owner Raunio (I think played by Martti Suosalo) is arrested for selling drugs; the band in the bar (Maustetytöt) sing a wonderfully depressing song (“Syntynyt suruun ja puettu pettymyksin”) about death and suicide (“Even the graveyard is by fences bound”)
- There are some nice references for movie lovers.
- A scene at a bus stop, full of meaningful looks and swelling strings, may immediately remind cinephiles of Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard in “Brief Encounter”. (Some of the lines are suitably reminiscent: “Only autumn thrives in your heart”). Then, if you made that association, you can feel suitably smug when this suspicion is nicely validated via a movie poster!
- Their ‘first date’ movie is the terrible zombie film “The Dead Don’t Die” with Adam Driver and Bill Murray (LOL). On the way out, two pretentious film critics discuss how the film aligns to cinema classics such as the oeuvre of Luis Buñuel! (As I watched this at the LFF Press Screenings, this joke got a huge roar of laughter!)
- There are other memorable movie moments: the phone number blowing away; the pile of cigarette stubs; the randomness of a sexy Tom Jones poster on the wall of the worker’s bunk-room; a dramatic ‘event’ in the final reel, again reflecting “Brief Encounter”. (No spoilers, but I was reminded of the surprising twist in “Their Finest” here.)
- Animal lovers will not be disappointed by the inclusion of a very cute mongrel. (Relax… the dog does not die!)
Negatives:
- I mean, if I’m being harsh, I thought some of the acting by the two leads was just a tad hammy at times.
Summary Thoughts on “Falling Leaves”
This is class cinema that will muscle it’s way into my top 10 of the year for sure! Loved it!
“Fallen Leaves” is scheduled to be released in the UK on December 1st 2023. DON’T LET THE SUBTITLES PUT TOU OFF! If you loved “Past Lives”, I predict that you will also love this romantic comedy.
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Trailer for “Fallen Leaves”:
The trailer is here.
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Deadpan master Aki😂 Loved this film so much I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. Short, sweet and delightful against the backdrop of bleakness.
Yes! Glad someone else likes it as much as I do! 🙂