Lights in the dusk (Laitakaupungin Valot) concludes the trilogy began by the Drifting Clouds (Kauas pilvet karkaavat) and the The Man Without a Past (Mies vailla menneisyyttä). Where the trilogy’s first film was about unemployment and the second about homelessness, the theme of Lights in the dusk is loneliness.
Lights in the dusk (Laitakaupungin Valot) concludes the trilogy began by the Drifting Clouds (Kauas pilvet karkaavat) and the The Man Without a Past (Mies vailla menneisyyttä). Where the trilogy’s first film was about unemployment and the second about homelessness, the theme of Lights in the dusk is loneliness. Like Chaplin’s little tramp the protagonist, a man named Koistinen, searches the hard world for a small crack to crawl in through, but both his fellow beings and the faceless apparatus of the society see it their business to crush his modest hopes, one after another. Criminal elements exploit his longing for love and his position as a night watchman in a robbery they pull off, leaving Koistinen to face the consequences. This is done with the help of the most callous woman in the history of cinema since Joseph. L Mankiewicz’s ”All About Eve” (1950). Thus Koistinen is deprived of his job, his freedom, and his dreams. Luckily for our protagonist, the author of the film has a reputation of being a soft-hearted old man, so we can assume there is a spark of hope illuminating the final scene.
Aki Kaurismäki Writer, director, editor and producer Born in Finland 4.4.1957, but…Films as director: 1981 THE SAIMAA GESTURE (co-dir. with Mika Kaurismäki) /// 1983 CRIME AND PUNISHMENT /// 1985 CALAMARI UNION /// 1986 SHADOWS IN PARADISE / ROCKY VI (short) /// 1987 HAMLET GOES BUSINESS / THRU THE WIRE (short) / L.A.WOMAN (short) / RICH LITTLE BITCH (short) /// 1988 ARIEL /// 1989 LENINGRAD COWBOYS GO AMERICA / DIRTY HANDS (TV film) /// 1990 THE MATCH FACTORY GIRL / I HIRED A CONTRACT KILLER /// 1991 THOSE WERE THE DAYS (short) / THESE BOOTS (short) /// 1992 LA VIE DE BOHEME /// 1993 TOTAL BALALAIKA SHOW - HELSINKI CONCERT (documentary) /// 1994 TAKE CARE OF YOUR SCARF – TATJANA / LENINGRAD COWBOYS MEET MOSES /// 1996 DRIFTING CLOUDS /// 1998 JUHA /// 2002 THE MAN WITHOUT A PAST / DOGS HAVE NO HELL (short) /// 2004 BICO (short) /// 2006 LIGHTS IN THE DUSK
Janne HYYTIÄINEN /// Maria HEISKANEN /// Maria JÄRVENHELMI /// Ilkka KOLVULA
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Aki Kaurismäki /// Producer Aki Kaurismäki /// Cinematography Timo Salminen /// Editing Aki Kaurismäki /// Sound Jouko Lumme, Tero Malmberg /// Set Design Markku Pätilä /// Wardrobe Outi Harjupatana
FORMAT 35 mm / 1:1.85 / Colour Dolby Digital / LENGTH 80 mins / O.V. / Finnish / Original title Laitakaupungin valot
Official Selection, In Competition – Festival de Cannes 2006
