Laitakaupungin valot (2006)

In Helsinki, a lonely night watchman is caught up in a series of misadventures with a femme fatale and a crooked businessman.

Director:

Aki Kaurismäki

Writer:

Aki Kaurismäki

Stars:

Janne Hyytiäinen, Maria Järvenhelmi, Maria Heiskanen

3 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Janne Hyytiäinen	...	Seppo Ilmari Koistinen
Maria Järvenhelmi	...	Mirja
Maria Heiskanen	...	Aila
Ilkka Koivula	...	Lindholm
Sergei Doudko	...	Russian
Andrei Gennadiev	...	Russian
Arturas Pozdniakovas	...	Russian
Matti Onnismaa	...	Shift Manager
Sulevi Peltola	...	Foreman
Antti Reini	...	Security Guard
Neka Haapanen	...	Security Guard
Santtu Karvonen	...	Security Guard
Sesa Lehto	...	Security Guard
Jukka Rautiainen	...	Security Guard
Jukka Salmi	...	Security Guard

Storyline

Koistinen is a sad sack, a man without affect or friends. He's a night-watchman in Helsinki with ideas of starting his own business, but nothing to go with those intentions. He sometimes talks a bit with a woman who runs a snack trailer near his work. Out of the blue, a young sophisticated blonde woman attaches herself to Koistinen. He thinks of her as his girlfriend, he takes her on her rounds. She's in league with a crook who's planning a jewel robbery, and Koistinen is their patsy. Will he ever wise up?

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Plot Keywords:

night watchman | jewels | femme fatale | unrequited love | cigarette smoking | 

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Genres:

Crime | Drama

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Certificate:

K-7

Details

Country:

Finland Germany France Italy Sweden

Language:

Finnish Russian

Release Date:

3 February 2006 (Finland)

Also Known As:

Yövartija

Filming Locations:

Kaivokatu, Helsinki, Finland

Box Office

Budget:

EUR1,380,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,757, 17 June 2007

Gross USA:

$14,056

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,615,018

Company Credits

Production Co:

Sputnik, Yleisradio (YLE), Pandora Filmproduktion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

78 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital (SRD)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Suomen Filmikamari, which selects the Finnish candidate for Academy Awards Best Foreign-Language Picture, had already chosen Laitakaupungin valot in September 2006, but in October 2006 Aki Kaurismäki informed them that he did not want his film considered for that competition. This also meant that there was no Finnish entry in the Academy Awards pre-selection.

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Quotes

Mirja: [Worried that Koistinen will squeal] He'll talk. He'll tell them about me.
Lindholm: Koistinen will never betray you. He's loyal as a dog, a sentimental fool. My genius lies in understanding that.

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Connections

Follows Kauas pilvet karkaavat (1996)

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Soundtracks

Rich Little Bitch
Composed by Tokela

User Reviews

It is still Kaurismäki, is it?

Compared to normal Hollywood movies I still enjoy Kaurismäki's films, but this is definitely not one of his best ones.

One of the biggest problems of this film is the director's attitude towards his main character. Koistinen's situation is getting worse with every action he takes. That's not the problem, but Kaurismäki doesn't offer a minimum of possible explanations to Koistinen's behaviour.

I don't expect a complete interpretation of his work by a director or by an author, but as a viewer of a film or as a reader of a book you need at least some information to start at. So I can only imagine that the reasons for Koistinen's behaviour lie in his state of mind and/or in his past.

But this is criticism at a high level. There are still some typical Kaurismäki-scenes in this film which I like a lot.