Ariel (1988)

Director:

Aki Kaurismäki

Writer:

Aki Kaurismäki (writer)

Release Date:

October 1990 (USA)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Crime | Romance

Plot:

The movie tells the story of Taisto Kasurinen, a finnish coal miner whose father has just committed...

Plot Keywords:

Unemployment | Black Suit Clad Killer | Sequel

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Turo Pajala	...	Taisto Kasurinen
Susanna Haavisto	...	Irmeli Pihlaja
Matti Pellonpää	...	Mikkonen
Eetu Hilkamo	...	Riku
Erkki Pajala	...	Kaivosmies
Matti Jaaranen	...	Pahoinpitelijä
Hannu Viholainen	...	Apuri
Jorma Markkula	...	Prikkamies
Tarja Keinänen	...	Nainen Satamassa
Eino Kuusela	...	Mies rannalla
Kauko Laalo	...	Asuntolanhoitaja
Jyrki Olsonen	...	Mies Asuntolassa
Esko Nikkari	...	Autokauppias
Marja Packalén	...	Tuomari (as Marja Packalen)
Mikko Remes	...	Vankilalääkäri

Also Known As:

Ariel (USA)

Runtime:

73 min

Country:

Finland

Language:

Finnish

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-11 (DVD rating) | Finland:K-12 (original rating) | Iceland:L | Sweden:15 | UK:15 | USA:Not Rated

Company:

Finnish Film Foundation

Trivia:

Aki Kaurismäki wrote the script over a weekend.

Quotes:

Irmeli Katariina Pihlaja: [Taisto and Irmeli has just been on their first date] What shall we do now?
Taisto Olavi Kasurinen: Let's get marriend and have a child.
Irmeli Katariina Pihlaja: I already have a child.
Taisto Olavi Kasurinen: That's good. We'll spare some time.
Irmeli Katariina Pihlaja: Are you always so self-confident?
Taisto Olavi Kasurinen: This is the first time.

Movie Connections:

Features High Sierra (1941)

Soundtrack:

Haaveisiin vaipunut

After Seeing Ariel, I Will Die A Happy Man

When I first saw Ariel (A), at the beginning of the nineties, maybe three years after it was first released, it blew me away. At the time I had gone through a long streak of awful "alternative" movies, the last one having been Atom Egoyan's "The Adjuster"; I was totally depressed and fed up with cinema in general since all the movies around seemed to be either generic Hollywood block busters or equally generic "intellectual" time wasters -- "The Adjuster" being a perfect example of the latter category. When I left the cinema after having seen A, I had tears of joy in my eyes, thinking: "thank god, I do not have to give up going to the cinema after all". Ariel is exactly the movie I wish I had made, very cool, funny, stylish, engaging, romantic, hard core, subtle. I have seen it many times since, it has become my all - time favourite, desert - island movie. Of course there are other good movies around, but few which match its quality, and none of them changed my outlook on cinema the way A did. Other Kaurismäkis movies I have seen and loved are "MacBeth", "I Hired A Contract Killer", "La vie de bohème", "Tulitikkutehtaan tyttö" ("The Match Factory Girl"), "Juha"; the Leningrad Cowboy flicks were OK, but not really my cup of tea.

Anyway, I have a small anecdote I want to get off my chest: shortly after seeing A I was talking with a couple of co - workers about movies, and a friend of mine said: "the other day I saw the best movie ever, it's called Ariel, it blew me away, I haven't washed my eyes since", etc. I thought, wow, I would have never thought that she would like that movie, but there you go, truly good movies just have a universal appeal. Only years later did I find out that she had been talking about not Kaurismäkis' masterpiece but Disney's "Arielle -- The Little Mermaid". ;-)