The second part of Aki Kaurismäki's "Finland" trilogy, following Kauas pilvet karkaavat (1996).
This film won the London Evening Standard's "Palm Dog" award at the Cannes Film Festival for the best animal role. The winning dog's name, aptly, is Tähti ("Star" in Finnish).
In the bar scene there is a portrait photo of Matti Pellonpää on the wall. He played in numerous Kaurismäki films before his sudden death in 1995.
Chosen by "Telerama" (France) as one of the 10 best pictures of 2002 (#01, tied with "Hable con ella")