IMDb RATING
6.8/10
8.1K
YOUR RATING
In Helsinki, a lonely night watchman is caught up in a series of misadventures with a femme fatale and a crooked businessman.In Helsinki, a lonely night watchman is caught up in a series of misadventures with a femme fatale and a crooked businessman.In Helsinki, a lonely night watchman is caught up in a series of misadventures with a femme fatale and a crooked businessman.
- Awards
- 3 wins & 7 nominations
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaSuomen Filmikamari, which selects the Finnish candidate for Academy Awards Best Foreign-Language Picture, had already chosen Laitakaupungin valot in September 2006, but in October 2006 Aki Kaurismäki informed them that he did not want his film considered for that competition. This also meant that there was no Finnish entry in the Academy Awards pre-selection.
- Quotes
Shift Manager: And what was your name?
Koistinen: Koistinen. Just like before.
- ConnectionsFollows Drifting Clouds (1996)
- SoundtracksEl día que me quieras
Carlos Gardel
Featured review
the arid, bitter-sweet beauty of despair
Night watchman Koiskinen lives an alienated life. Ridiculed and shunned by his workmates, regarded as incompetent by his employers, he lives alone, drinks alone, and only manages to talk in any decent way with the woman who sell hot dogs in the fast food stand. His life changes when a mysterious blond takes a sudden and unexpected interest in him.
As a Kaurismaki novice, I was struck by the spartan sets, strong primary colours, and the actors penchant for walking briskly into frames and then freezing, akin to amateur theatre in the village hall. Once you figure out it is all a send up, the film is fun and moves along quickly enough. The dry, pared down dialogue, lack of sentiment, and black humour are interspersed judiciously. There seems to be a record attempt for number of cigarettes smoked in a film going on. The Finnish attitude to alcohol makes Scotland seem like Utah. Throughout it all, Koiskinen infuriates with his passivity. His minor triumph at the end, finally making the right decision, is small, fleeting and perfect in this context. The film is both downbeat and uplifting. I don't recommend watching Kaurismaki films back-to-back, but as an antidote to an overdose of Transformers or Harry Potter, this works perfectly.
As a Kaurismaki novice, I was struck by the spartan sets, strong primary colours, and the actors penchant for walking briskly into frames and then freezing, akin to amateur theatre in the village hall. Once you figure out it is all a send up, the film is fun and moves along quickly enough. The dry, pared down dialogue, lack of sentiment, and black humour are interspersed judiciously. There seems to be a record attempt for number of cigarettes smoked in a film going on. The Finnish attitude to alcohol makes Scotland seem like Utah. Throughout it all, Koiskinen infuriates with his passivity. His minor triumph at the end, finally making the right decision, is small, fleeting and perfect in this context. The film is both downbeat and uplifting. I don't recommend watching Kaurismaki films back-to-back, but as an antidote to an overdose of Transformers or Harry Potter, this works perfectly.
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- LunarPoise
- Oct 25, 2008
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Details
Box office
- Budget
- €1,380,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $14,056
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $2,757
- Jun 17, 2007
- Gross worldwide
- $1,615,018
- Runtime1 hour 18 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.85 : 1
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