Lights in the Dusk (2006)

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

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)

Trailer

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