There's a somewhat magical, perversely paradoxical thing that might take hold of a watcher of Kaurismäki films: Which is that one might find oneself so intrinsically entangled in the lives of characters, their trials and tribulations, that it doesn't seem that important anymore whether the story on screen ends with, say, a happily ever after or a joint suicide. Sounds strange? Seems consequential, though...
That's because a film about tragedies that feel real manages to transcend its medium and hit home. It's because the simplicity and directness of the material without embellishments or over-dramatization touches something in us, brings us down to our own existential level. Rather than impose feelings on the characters we can't help but empathize with them, genuinely. And once we are at this point, we're likely to have learned our lesson, dig up some profound truths, long before the credits roll. This is true of a couple of equally absorbing social dramas from Kaurismäki comparable to "Drifting Clouds", ranging from "Shadows in Paradise" over "Ariel" to "The Match Factory Girl". As for "Drifting Clouds": Despite the downward spiral Kaurismäki's ordinary people find themselves trapped in, survival seems to be dependent on primarily one thing: to rely on one another, to give support, faults aside, to pick oneself up, to fight against the odds, to succeed or succumb - together.
That's what Kaurismäki losers do: struggle with determination. They are working class people, who have very small dreams. Like getting themselves a simple TV set (it has colors!), and pay for it later. But when reality hits hard, again and again, their dreams have to focus on other things, and so these dreams become bigger and more and more improbable to realize. Kaurismäki just observes. The acting is understated, the characters humble, words are scarce. Even music and sound are diegetic only (except for one key moment), all we hear is happening on screen, is not suggested from the outside. Humour of course is not to be missed, and dead-pan at that, the directing is precise, economical. Very Finnish, tailored to Finnish lives, and yet it feels universal, because through this lens we become witnesses of something larger.
You might look at clouds as they drift away - castles in the sky, pipe dreams they say. Trying to reach them could be a vain exercise, even tainted by doom. Make sure to fight your fight, though, for you will discover that you are not alone. You will learn to understand others, and others will understand you. If you go under, there's at least a shared journey to remember. Or your fate, masking as coincidence.
That's because a film about tragedies that feel real manages to transcend its medium and hit home. It's because the simplicity and directness of the material without embellishments or over-dramatization touches something in us, brings us down to our own existential level. Rather than impose feelings on the characters we can't help but empathize with them, genuinely. And once we are at this point, we're likely to have learned our lesson, dig up some profound truths, long before the credits roll. This is true of a couple of equally absorbing social dramas from Kaurismäki comparable to "Drifting Clouds", ranging from "Shadows in Paradise" over "Ariel" to "The Match Factory Girl". As for "Drifting Clouds": Despite the downward spiral Kaurismäki's ordinary people find themselves trapped in, survival seems to be dependent on primarily one thing: to rely on one another, to give support, faults aside, to pick oneself up, to fight against the odds, to succeed or succumb - together.
That's what Kaurismäki losers do: struggle with determination. They are working class people, who have very small dreams. Like getting themselves a simple TV set (it has colors!), and pay for it later. But when reality hits hard, again and again, their dreams have to focus on other things, and so these dreams become bigger and more and more improbable to realize. Kaurismäki just observes. The acting is understated, the characters humble, words are scarce. Even music and sound are diegetic only (except for one key moment), all we hear is happening on screen, is not suggested from the outside. Humour of course is not to be missed, and dead-pan at that, the directing is precise, economical. Very Finnish, tailored to Finnish lives, and yet it feels universal, because through this lens we become witnesses of something larger.
You might look at clouds as they drift away - castles in the sky, pipe dreams they say. Trying to reach them could be a vain exercise, even tainted by doom. Make sure to fight your fight, though, for you will discover that you are not alone. You will learn to understand others, and others will understand you. If you go under, there's at least a shared journey to remember. Or your fate, masking as coincidence.