Varjoja paratiisissa

There is hardly a film by Aki Kaurismäki that does not touch on working life in one form or another, usually monotonous, often full of privation and sometimes only of short duration. The "Proletariat Trilogy" brings together early works by Kaurismäki, featuring his regular cast: Matti Pellonpää and Kati Outinen.

The timid love affair between Nikander, a shy garbage man (Pellonpää) and the supermarket cashier Ilona (Outinen) begins with a cut on the wrist. Together the two wrest a little hope from shattered dreams, rainy Helsinki with its dull bingo evenings and dreary hotel rooms. Sparsely staged, superbly acted, with an impressive palette of color and music, the film contains many of the elements that would soon become Kaurismäki's trademarks.