Synopsis
In Kaurismäki’s drolly existential crime drama, a coal miner named Taisto (Turo Pajala) attempts to leave behind a provincial life of inertia and economic despair, only to get into ever deeper trouble. Yet a minor-key romance with a hilariously dispassionate meter maid (Susanna Haavisto) might provide a light at the end of a very dark tunnel. Ariel, which boasts a terrific soundtrack of Finnish tango and Baltic pop music and lovely cinematography by Kaurismäki’s longtime cameraman Timo Salmimen, put its director on the international map.
Cast
| Taisto Olavi Kasurinen | Turo Pajala |
| Irmeli Katariina Pihlaja | Susanna Haavisto |
| Mikkonen | Matti Pellonpää |
| Riku | Eetu Hilkamo |
Credits
| Producer | Aki Kaurismäki |
| Director | Aki Kaurismäki |
| Screenplay | Aki Kaurismäki |
| Cinematography | Timo Salminen |
| Art direction | Risto Karhula |
| Editing | Raija Talvio |
| Sound | Jouko Lumme |
From the Current
Eclipse Series 12:
Aki Kaurismäki’s Proletariat Trilogy
by
Sep 22, 2008
The cinema of Aki Kaurismäki has been tickling viewers for more than two decades without so much as cracking a smile. With their rotating casts of sourpuss Finns and their stringent, often immobile compositions, his films would seem the least likely candidates for laughs, yet by some cinematic . . .
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