Aki Kaurismaki's film is a metaphor about surviving the worst possible tragedy in which a man loses his mind because the brutal beating that is inflicted upon him, after which, he transforms himself into a much better person than he was prior to that moment in which fate plays the horrible trick on him.
This is a film for acquired tastes of Kaurimaki's work. As a rule, his characters are people that are living outside society, as we know it, in a world of their own. Kaurismaki and his team always give us deadpan people who, at times, are hard to accept, but once the viewer falls for them, he is in for a good ride.
Mr. Kaurismaki has found actors such as Markku Peltola who is the man without the past, and Kati Outinen as the Salvation Army worker who falls in love with him, not knowing what she is in for. Ms. Outinen is marvelous in her interpretation of Irma. She plays such stoic women in everything I have seen her in. She is a very good actress who tends to erase herself, but her presence is felt throughout the film.
It is very interesting to see how many of the films that are nominated for the the Oscar as the best foreign film sometimes are not shown until after the awards are given, probably due to the fact of the narrow audiences they attract.
This is a film for acquired tastes of Kaurimaki's work. As a rule, his characters are people that are living outside society, as we know it, in a world of their own. Kaurismaki and his team always give us deadpan people who, at times, are hard to accept, but once the viewer falls for them, he is in for a good ride.
Mr. Kaurismaki has found actors such as Markku Peltola who is the man without the past, and Kati Outinen as the Salvation Army worker who falls in love with him, not knowing what she is in for. Ms. Outinen is marvelous in her interpretation of Irma. She plays such stoic women in everything I have seen her in. She is a very good actress who tends to erase herself, but her presence is felt throughout the film.
It is very interesting to see how many of the films that are nominated for the the Oscar as the best foreign film sometimes are not shown until after the awards are given, probably due to the fact of the narrow audiences they attract.