Rikos ja rangaistus (1983)

Director:

Aki Kaurismäki

Writers:

Fyodor Dostoyevsky (novel)
Aki Kaurismäki (writer)

Release Date:

2 December 1983 (Finland)

Genre:

Crime | Drama

Plot:

An adaptation of Dostoyevsky's novel, updated to present-day Helsinki. Slaughterhouse worker Rahikainen murders a man...

Plot Keywords:

Foreign Language Adaptation | Remake | Based On Novel

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Markku Toikka	...	Antti Rahikainen
Aino Seppo	...	Eeva Laakso
Esko Nikkari	...	Inspector Pennanen
Olli Tuominen	...	Detective Snellman
Hannu Lauri	...	Department head Heinonen
Matti Pellonpää	...	Nikander
Pentti Auer	...	Kari Honkanen
Asmo Hurula	...	Bartender
Tiina Pirhonen	...	Maid
Kari Sorvali	...	Sormunen
Risto Aaltonen	...	Painter
Tarja Keinänen	...	Mrs. Pennanen
Harri Marstio	...	Singer

Also Known As:

Crime and Punishment (Europe: English title)

Runtime:

USA:93 min

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

South Korea:15 | Finland:K-12

Company:

Villealfa Filmproduction Oy

Quotes:

Kari Honkanen: What are you doing here?
Antti Rahikainen: I came to kill you
Kari Honkanen: Why?
Antti Rahikainen: You will never know it.
[Rahikainen shoots Honkanen]

Movie Connections:

Version of Crime and Punishment (1935/I)

A dour adaptation of Dostoyevski's work - minimalist but also drawn-out for no apparent reason

Kaurismaki's formal debut is a straight-faced drama set in moody Helsinki that is not however particularly engaging and save for a few inspired moments doesn't really have something to recommend it to the casual viewer. The story revolves around a socially disassociated, aloof man working in a meat factory, who one day shows up in the doorstep of an upper class businessman and simply explains that he's there to kill him then shoots him dead. The rest of the film combines a detective thriller (thriller in the mildest sense of the term) and a psychological drama and is largely okay in both departments.

I find Kaurismaki's very basic approach to film-making to be refreshing compared to the cynic, gimmicky cinema of our days that is more content to wink at the audience than take the material it presents seriously. The dialogue is as sparse as the plot is thinly stretched and everything in 'Crime and Punishment' has a very minimalist feel to it. It's rather short, clocking at almost 90 minutes, but after Kaurismaki gets done with the setup and motive and general background of the killer, and this happens around the half mark, he just doesn't have a whole lot of places to go with the rest of the film.

As a debut and an exercise in film-making for the young director it's impressive, but it's also monotonous and very one-note and just not very interesting.