written by: Aki Kaurismäki
directed by: Aki Kaurismäki
produced by: Aki Kaurismäki / Sputnik Oy
budget: 1 380 000 €
camera: Timo Salminen
duration: 78 minutes
shot in: Colour
country: Finland / Germany / France
filming Locations: Helsinki, Finland
year: 2006

In Helsinki, a lonely night watchman is caught up in a series of misadventures with a femme fatale and a crooked businessman.

Laitakaupungin valot is the last episode of the Aki Kaurismäki Finnish trilogy which included the films Drifting Clouds and The Man Without a Past. The main character of the latest installment is a lonely and badly treated night guard called Koistinen who in many ways is the male version of Iris from The Match Factory Girl. Having seen both of these films it is impossible to avoid certain comparisons, and it can be said that in some ways you can invent more tragic stories for a female character than a male one because of her possibility to become a mother. However, you can also certainly absorb yourself into the story of the male main character of Laitakaupungin valot and feel empathy for him.

In this movie Kati Outinen does a flash-like cameo appearance as the clerk of a Cassa shop, and the performers of the bigger parts are quite well accustomed to Kaurismäki's style of film-making. Maria Järvenhelmi does a quality job but is not able to drain that last drop from her role that differentiates it from the classic Eve of All About Eve. On the other hand, this may partly advance the realism of the movie. Janne Hyytiäinen, who plays the main part, is also very believable in his role, although I do not consider him to be quite as magnificent a "silent film actor" as Kati Outinen was in previous parts of the trilogy.

The music of Laitakaupungin valot deserves a special mention, since with it the aesthetic style of Kaurismäki really flowers. When the silence is the loudest instrument it is handled with the usual Kaurismaki mastery.. There is also plenty of Kaurismäki trade-mark dry humour at the beginning of the movie, especially in the coffee shop scene, but when the film goes on the comic aspect almost totally vanishes and the dramatic values take over. Another notable feature of this work is the exceptional amount of smoking (even for Kaurismäki), which is possibly because of the director's own agenda of opposing the ban of smoking in restaurants.

Suomen 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 Kaurismäki informed the institution that he did not want his film participating in that competition. Consequently it meant that there was no Finnish entry in the Academy Awards pre-selection.

Festivals:

price: £14.99 (uk sterling)

(shipped from uk) (price includes uk & european postage & packaging. outside europe please e-mail here with country ordering from for postage quote). if you are ordering from us or canada anyway the chances are this european dvd will not play on your dvd player so it is better to check first.

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also available: amazon.co.uk

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