Aki Kaurismäki is a genre unto himself. If you’ve seen Le Havre or The Other Side of Hope then you know what to expect, and if you haven’t, they’re charming, deadpan comedies about working class people, often melancholic or just alcoholic, but goodhearted and kind to dogs (there’s always a dog). In Fallen Leaves, Ansi (Alma Pöysti) meets Holappa (Jussi Vatanen), and these two lonely souls feel they are meant for each other, but Fate seems to have other ideas… From this simple love story, Kaurismäki crafts a poignant and pertinent comedy which picked up the Jury Prize at Cannes.
Jury Prize, Cannes 2023
Actually-funny and not just arthouse-funny […] Fallen Leaves is another of Kaurismäki’s beguiling and delightful cinephile comedies, featuring foot-tapping rock’n’roll. It’s romantic and sweet-natured, in a deadpan style that in no way undermines or ironises the emotions involved and with some sharp things to say about contemporary politics. Fallen Leaves is a film with a big heart, as absurd and cartoony as it may be, it fills you with a feel-good glow.
Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen, Janne Hyytiäinen, Nuppu Koivu
Finland/Germany
2023
Special Presentations
In Finnish with English subtitles
Alcohol Abuse
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Producer
Aki Kaurismäki, Misha Jaari, Mark Lwoff, Reinhard Brundig
Screenwriter
Aki Kaurismäki
Cinematography
Timo Salminen
Editor
Samu Heikkilä
Production Design
Ville Grönroos
Director
Aki Kaurismäki
Along with his brother Mika, Aki Kaurismäki’s output constitutes roughly one fifth of the Finnish film industry’s feature film production since the early 1980s. A former film critic, Kaurismäki found international acclaim for his deadpan, slowburn humanist comedies. Both The Man Without a Past (2002) and Fallen Leaves (2023) won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes.
Filmography: Shadows in Paradise (1986); Drifting Clouds (1996); The Man Without a Past (2002); Le Havre (2011); The Other Side of Hope (2017)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
That They May Face the Rising Sun
John and Kate have moved from London to a farm in Ireland, to the bemusement of the locals. This lyrical Irish reverie taps deep wells of feeling in the stuff of everyday life.
Secret Mall Apartment
The stranger-than-fiction true story of a group of artists who built and furnished a hidden apartment inside a mall, remaining undetected for years. This is an absurdly fun and surprisingly profound film about gentrification and art.
The Encampments
When pro-Palestine protests took hold of Columbia last year, the filmmakers were there from the beginning. This documentary charts the mounting tensions between students and the administration, as the protests were picked up across North America.
The Teacher
In this potent thriller, English teacher Basem witnesses the murder of a teenager by a Israeli settler. While the subsequent investigation rolls slowly towards a foregone conclusion, the teacher is caught up in a parallel kidnapping case...
Bob Trevino Likes It
When her toxic, narcissistic dad cuts her out of his life, Lily Trevino looks him up on Facebook and happens across his namesake, Bob (John Leguizamo), a gentle, genial contractor who lives nearby, and who proves an altogether better dad...
A Duke Ellington Tribute with the Mike Braverman Sextet
After a scintillating session of Duke standards performed by The Mike Braverman Sextet, enjoy a roundup of Ellingtonia on Film: his first short sound films from the late 20s and 30s, and clips from the scores he composed in the 50s and 60s.