‘Fallen Leaves’ Movie Review [AFI Fest 2023]: Aki Kaurismäki’s Quirky Romance Is Far Too Slight
Photo from Sputnik/AFI Fest
From Jeff Nelson
Aki Kaurismäki is a filmmaker known for his signature minimalism and deadpan humor, which appears in full force in Fallen Leaves. Its classic film influences are worn on its sleeve with the subtlety of a hammer to the head, throwing a Kaurismäkian twist onto overly-familiar setups that didn’t make me swoon.
Taking place in a modern-day Helsinki, Ansa (Alma Pöysti) and Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) are two lonely souls unable to catch a break. She’s fired from her job as a supermarket employee, while he’s a steel worker with an addiction to alcohol. Ansa and Holappa’s brief encounter ultimately develops into something far more serious for both of them, representing a light at the end of a rather bleak tunnel.
Ansa and Holappa are both members of the working class, struggling to make a living. Kaurismäki switches between their perspectives, as they navigate their loneliness in different ways. Their behavior further alienates them from society, while putting their lives on a collision course where their affection for one another gradually grows stronger.
The love story in Fallen Leaves is a minor one. So minor that it’s barely felt. The direction tells us that Ansa and Holappa are made for one another, but their connection is barren. The war in Ukraine acts as the backdrop, demonstrating how beauty can appear in the dark depths of pain and suffering. However, the deadpan execution actually works against the film’s warmth and intimacy to provide an anti-romantic twist to their character arcs.
Kaurismäki’s comedy fares a bit better than the romance, finding funny moments in awkward exchanges primarily found between the leads and the strangers they brush shoulders with along the way. The characters speak in a blunt nature, which carries over into Pöysti and Vatanen’s performances, for better and worse. It occasionally benefits the film’s comedy, but it’s at the expense of its heart and the chemistry between the protagonists.
Fallen Leaves is a visual stunner that blends aesthetics of the past and the present in impressive ways. Timo Salminen’s cinematography is a real knockout, presenting a timeless feel that allows the various locations to pop. The soundtrack choices are also rather clever in how they depict the film’s tone.
The romance that blooms in Fallen Leaves is sweet enough, but it’s emotionally unmoving. Kaurismäki’s love for the art of film and some of the medium’s most renowned auteurs is felt strongly through familiar dialogue, scene set-up, and set decoration, frequently feeling like a deadpan recreation of its influences. There isn’t much original or impactful about Fallen Leaves, although its deadpan humor and charm may be more than enough to make this a worthwhile watch for some audiences. It just left me far too emotionally indifferent to feel much of anything when leaving the theater.
Rating: 2.5/5
Fallen Leaves played AFI Fest 2023 on October 26th, 2023. It hits theaters on November 17th, 2023.
