Time: 81 Minutes
Cast:
Alma Pöysti as Ansa
Jussi Vatanen as Holappa
Director: Aki Kaurismäki

I basically knew next to nothing about the movie, I had just seen some people calling it among the best films of 2023. While I wouldn’t go that far, I’m glad I watched it, it’s pretty good.

Fallen Leaves is a small scale deadpan romantic comedy about lonely people. It is definitely melancholic and bittersweet; there is much that emphasizes how dark and broken the world is, the radio reports of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine throughout help to establish this dark and brooding tone. At the same time, it was dryly funny and with an off kilter world and there’s some lightness and levity to it. It is fairly plotless and is very much a slice of life film, and it meanders a lot. It is fairly subtle in its tone and storytelling, and perhaps it was a little too low key for me, as by the end I felt it was missing something. However, I think that it is good across its 80s minutes.

It benefits from some good performances, Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen are subtly excellent in the lead roles and share solid chemistry together. 

Aki Kaurismäki’s direction is good on the whole. The style is not flashy, but it is well shot and it does a good job at portraying this cold and depressing world. It also uses music in very effective ways, those were some of the standout moments of the movie.

Fallen Leaves is a straightforward and minimalist romantic comedy, but is solid and genuine, with good performances.