Luzes no Crepúsculo (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 & 6 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:

M/16

Details

Country:

Finland Germany France Italy Sweden

Language:

Finnish Russian

Release Date:

22 November 2007 (Portugal)

Also Known As:

Luzes no Crepúsculo

Filming Locations:

Kaivokatu, Helsinki, Finland

Box Office

Budget:

€1,380,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$10,624 (Sweden), 14 August 2006, Limited Release

Opening Weekend USA:

$2,757, 17 June 2007, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$14,056

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

Shift Manager: And what was your name?
Koistinen: Koistinen. Just like before.

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Connections

Follows Nuvens Passageiras (1996)

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Soundtracks

El día que me quieras
Carlos Gardel

User Reviews

Kaurismaki goes Kafka and fluffs the laugh cues.

Aki Kaurismaki has an instinctive knack of laying down a story. He also presents the interest of being on the margins of life in a marginal country. Think of "Hamlet Goes Business". But in "Lights in the Dusk", Kaurismaki goes Kafka. He leans toward the fable, a genre hard to make into a decent movie. This one follows an honest loser to disaster. The character only manages to crawl out of the pit at the last minute by finally accepting partnership with another, more cautious loser. Visually splendid the film shows us Helsinki in all its modern, hard-edged, hostility, and together with the acting has a flawless unity of style. A.K.'s quirky humor is much less in evidence than usual though you might call a joke the fact that the loser's life in jail is roughly like his existence before he goes inside and after he comes out. Indeed the only time we see him socially at ease and smiling is in the prison yard when spring comes to Helsinki.