The Big Picture

Fallen Leaves proves there are still great cinematic gems out there, offering a fresh and unique perspective on love and life. The film follows two working-class people in modern Helsinki as they navigate obstacles and find a connection, portraying their lives with authenticity and depth. With a mix of delightful humor and heartfelt melancholy, Fallen Leaves captures the beauty and pain of everyday life, leaving a lasting impact with its simplicity and profoundness.

One of the unfortunate things that can come with watching movies all the time is the feeling that you may have seen all there is to see. Even as the pieces may be rearranged differently, a sense of familiarity with narrative patterns and tropes can start to weigh on you heavily. No matter how big and loud it may play the hits, this can grow painfully tiresome all too quickly. Thankfully, there are emotional epics of small moments that can sneak up on and prove to be one-of-a-kind when you least expect them to. It just requires keeping an open mind to seeking them out and you’ll discover spectacular works you might otherwise have missed.

Image via MUBI Fallen Leaves In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles – from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog. Release Date November 17, 2023 Main Genre Comedy Genres Drama Runtime 81 min. Studio MUBI
Fallen Leaves, from writer-director Aki Kaurismäki, is one such work that serves as a reminder of how the greatest cinematic gems are still out there. No stranger to creating magnificent dark deadpan comedies, Kaurismäki’s latest previously made its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival where it won a Jury Prize and is now Finland’s Oscar Submission for the upcoming yearly awards. This recognition matters less than the stunning film itself, as awards are not what is most important about great art, but it does provide hope that more general audiences will subsequently seek it out when they might not have otherwise. Not only is it one of the funniest films of the year, but it also hits like a train in the emotional resonances it teases out.

What Is ‘Fallen Leaves’ About?

The film, a portrait of two working-class people in modern Helsinki going about their lives, is also about everything in a playful yet profoundly existential sense. Ansa, played by a spectacularly subtle Alma Pöysti, is working at a grocery store but is subsequently fired for taking expired food even as it was going to be thrown out. She will then have to seek out another job to support herself where there is little good work to be found. Holappa, played with both a dry wit and crushing melancholy by Jussi Vatanen, is similarly struggling with work and holding down a job. However, we soon discover this is because of his alcoholism. He says he gets depressed when he drinks but that he does so precisely because of his depression. This cyclical paradox is one of the darkly humorous yet sincerely honest reflections that Fallen Leaves brings to the forefront. When Ansa and Holappa first meet at a bar, where there are hilarious karaoke performances, there is a seemingly instant connection that will soon carry over to other corners of their quiet lives. While such a comparison is only a sliver of what is happening here, imagine if Jeanne Dielman 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles was also a humorous love story and you’re headed in the right direction.

Namely, this is because the film is about people who are completely alive. Both Ansa and Holappa feel more like they’re people you could run into on the street rather than fictional characters. While you are watching the two of them start to grow closer, it is as if you are just peeking in on a real romance with all its silly yet sad fits and starts. There is an authenticity Kaurismäki brings to every single moment. From the way all the dialogue is precisely written to the restrained yet beautifully textured way it is all shot, you get completely enamored with every detail. It is one of those films where immediately upon finishing it, you almost wish you could start it right over again just to spend another day or two in the lives of these characters.

This is not because it is escapist entertainment but because it is the precise opposite. It is a depiction of life that has plenty of delightful jokes and heartfelt asides, with a trip to the movie theater to see a recent Jim Jarmusch picture proving to be wonderful, just as there is attention given to how much everything remains out of balance. There is immense pain in this world just as there is in ours with the characters’ facing constant economic precarity as well as the brutal violence of the war in Ukraine that comes in through the radio. They have found romance in each other, but the film is distinctly unromantic without ever sacrificing a moment of emotion. Instead, it makes everything cut deeper as it never becomes overly sentimental or cloying as many lesser works often do. Even the adoption of an adorable dog, who gives the cute canine from Anatomy of a Fall a challenge for the best movie pup of the year, is just another completely believable part of the rich experience of life itself.

‘Fallen Leaves’ Is One of the Best Films of the Year
Image via MUBI

When this all comes together in the end, the pieces that have been delicately yet decisively assembled create one of the most fittingly beautiful final shots one could hope for. While there are certainly plenty more flashy films vying for awards that will come out in the final months of this year, it is works like Fallen Leaves that deserve just as much attention for their approach and vision. It is a triumph in every sense of the word just as it is a humble portrait of life’s small moments. The way Kaurismäki strikes this balance is breathtaking in its patience, proving how the most moving works of cinema can come from the simplest of places.

Rating: A-

Fallen Leaves is playing in select theaters in the U.S. starting November 17. Click here for showtimes near you.