DRIFTING CLOUDS (Finland / 1996)



While Aki Kaurismki had broached the subject of unemployment before in his work, Drifting Clouds (Kauas pilvet karkaavat), the first installment of the masters "Finland" trilogy, specifically and resolutely dealt with its residual effects. This minimalist gem stars the great (and perpetually dour) Kati Outinen as Ilona, a committed matre d' at a moderately upscale Helsinki restaurant who, along with the rest of the staff (mostly played by Kaurismki veterans whom Keaton would've loved to have had), is let go due to a financial takeover. That occurs a short while after Ilonas husband, Lauri (an endearingly robotic Kari Vnnen), also loses his job as a tram driver (in a typical Kaurismki touch, the callous management determines the fate of the workers by card numbers). The middle-aged and middle-class couple do everything they can to get back on track but circumstances and a lousy economy keep standing in their way.

Less eager to please than The Man Without a Past (2002) -- the second part of the trilogy and, not surprisingly, one of Kaurismkis most widely seen and admired efforts -- Drifting Clouds features the filmmakers trademark refined, highly composed style which eventually becomes the means to relate the predicaments his protagonists often find themselves in. The richness of the color palette makes more of an impression once the film adopts a few classic Hollywood turns (all by design). Even by Kaurismki standards, the humor is relatively subdued (the one sequence which stands out however has Lauri storming out of a movie theater and demanding a refund from the cashier -- who turns out to be his sister -- even though he hadnt paid for the ticket in the first place!). Drifting Clouds is dedicated to the memory of Matti Pellonp, a ubiquitous presence in the filmmakers initial efforts.

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*The film premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival (in-competition); it won a Special Mention from the Ecumenical Jury.

*Both Vnnen and Pellonp were part of Jim Jarmuschs 1991 effort, Night on Earth (coming soon from Criterion). Needless to say, the Finnish segment of the film was an homage to Kaurismki, who returns the favor by displaying the poster of that film in the aforementioned movie theater sequence.

*The Third installment of the "Finland" trilogy, Lights in the Dusk (2006), is currently in limited release in the U.S. (Trevor's review.)

*DVD info to follow