Underplayed Gems

Lights in the Dusk (2006)

Lights in the Dusk poster
Original title
Laitakaupungin valot
Directed by
Aki Kaurismäki
Genre
drama film, comedy film, art film
Country
Germany, France, Finland
Runtime
1h 18m
Rated
NR
Rating
6.8 of 10 from 163 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

A lonely security guard falls for a woman who manipulates him into taking part in a robbery. He stays loyal even as things go wrong.

melancholicdeadpanslow-burnbleakromanticlonelyquietwryly comic

What happens

Lights in the Dusk (Finnish: Laitakaupungin valot) is a 2006 Finnish comedy-drama film written, directed, produced and edited by Aki Kaurismäki. Starring Janne Hyytiäinen, Ilkka Koivula, and Maria Järvenhelmi, the film was presented at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. It is the last installment in Kaurismäki's "Finland" trilogy after Drifting Clouds (1996) and The Man Without a Past (2002). The film is about a security guard who is set up in a robbery by a femme fatale who exploits his gullibility and loyalty. Classical music is used as background throughout much of the film, including excerpts from the work of the famous Swedish tenor Jussi Björling. It has been argued that the film deals with the ways in which "[c]apitalism has painted the town red, just a different shade of red from its socialist connotations," as well as that "rock is so important to the director that a number of his males, including Koistinen, favor a 50s, greasy, sweptback hair style, to go along with their love of rock 'n' roll (definitely a reminder of how rock was the way to rebel in socialist countries)." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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