The Cannes Film Festival welcomed Les Feuilles Mortes in competition. This is the fifth time Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki has been invited to the Cannes competition. The film won the Jury Prize, ahead of its theatrical release on September 20.
Like most of Aki Kaurismäki's films, Les Feuilles Mortes focuses on characters from the Finnish proletariat. Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen play the roles of two lonely people who meet by chance in Helsinki and try to find their first, only and last love.
Fans of the filmmaker won't be put off: this is pure Kaurismäki! Even the film's actress, Alma Pöysti, resembles Kati Outinen, the director's muse, whom he directed in eleven films. He plunges us into a timeless Finland, filmed in a style straight out of the 1970s. But this time, the director breaks new ground. Les Feuilles Mortes is much funnier than most of his films. But it's a dry, gritty, desperate kind of humor. There's nothing funny about the daily lives of the two protagonists, who remain anonymous for most of the film. We find the austerity so dear to Kaurismäki, the sad bars on the outskirts surrounded by building sites and dark alleys with cold walls.
With a backdrop like this, it's easy to understand why the protagonists prefer to remain silent and drown their daily lives in alcohol. But the meeting of these two sad beings is immensely touching in its sweetness and bittersweet poetry. No one films the proletariat with more talent and love than Kaurismäki, which makes Les Feuilles Mortes a truly moving feature.
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The Must-See UGC Films Live Up to Their Name True to their reputation, the UGC Films showcase features the best movies from the past year. The latest edition of this popular event runs from January 14 to 27, 2026, across around fifteen cinemas in the Paris region. The good news? Tickets are just 5 euros each. It's also a great chance to meet some filmmakers and have a chat. Check out the schedule here! [Read more]
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