"Lights in the Dusk"*** 1\2 (out of ****)
Aki Kaurismaki's "Lights in the Dusk" concludes his "loser trilogy". It is a tale of loneliness and desperation in a corrupt world where the nice guy does finish last.
That description may make Kaurismaki's film sound like a serious drama, but his approach to the material is light. "Lights in the Dusk" goes for dark humor. The character's desperation and loneliness is exaggerated for comedic effect. Their dour faces and gestures resemble Buster Keaton's "great stoneface". They are expressionless. Kaurismaki even goes as far as to position his characters in stances which resemble statues. They don't act like people but rather zombies. These extremes, in a werid way, make the film amusing and comedic.
Koistinen (Janne Hyytiainen) is a lonely security guard. He has no friends. He is ridiculed by co-workers and shun by strangers. Whenever he makes an attempt to confront people for their wrong doing he is immediately put back in his place, which is usually done by beating him. But Koistinen is a dreamer. Things will eventually get better or at least that's what he tells himself. He wants to open his own a business, a garage. He is under the impression some of his co-workers would join him. The viewer doesn't share his belief.
One day, sitting alone in a restaurant, a woman, Mirja (Maris Jarvenhelmi) approaches him and strikes up a conversation with him. She too seems like, to use Kaurismaki's phrase, a "loser", an outsider. They start to date. But then we discover Mirja's true intentions. She actually works for a gangster, Lindholm (Ilkka Koivula) who wants Mirja to get close to Koistinen so she can steal his security keyes and brake into the jewelry store where he works. Lindholm is convinced Koistinen is such a pathetic loser he won't mind being taken advantage of and even if he discovers Marji's intentions he still wouldn't do anything about it.
"Lights in the Dusk" isn't really a noir film, though the story has possibilities. It isn't really a comedy either, the characters don't speak in jokes the way you'd expect Woody Allen, Bob Hope or Groucho Marx to. And it isn't really a drama because the film is too much of a caricature of human existence to add any emotion involvement or depth. This is one of those films which in undefinable. It crosses genres and creates a new one. That is what makes "Lights in the Dusk" such a joy to watch. It's originality. It's ability to break film conventions and set out on a new course.
"Lights in the Dusk" could have been a dark, existential film. Imagine if Ingmar Bergman had directed it. Man's loneliness, the emptiness of the universe. But Bergman's vision would have been more poetic. Kaurismaki, while dealing with the same themes gives it a comedic feel.
The performances are quite effective as they perfectly convey the director's vision. Hyytiainen walks a fine line between going too overboard and losing the audience. There is that caricature but Kaurismaki does it within limits. If the film becomes too broad you can lose an audience. There has to be some structure to the film. Some rules Kaurismaki has set for himself. And the actors pull it off. The viewer does not lose interest in these people.
"Lights in the Dusk" was Finland's official Oscar nominee at the Academy Awards two years ago but for political reasons Kaurismaki refused the nomination. The film was also nominated for the palme d'or at the Cannes Film Festival.
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