| Overview: | The deadpan wit of Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki has made him a cult sensation. This collector's edition features digitally remastered presentations of three of his most acclaimed features.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR SCARF, TATJANA
Finland/ Germany (1994), 62 minutes
This droll tale of longing and awkward romance follows two misfits – a coffee addict and a vodka-soaked mechanic – as they hit the road in their Soviet-built Volga. Along the way they manage to pick up two women, the Estonian Tatjana (Kati Outinen) and the buxom Russian Klavdia, despite sharing no common language and being completely clueless as to what to do with them next. Set to a thumping rock and roll soundtrack, this beautifully observed and comically understated gem is classic Kaurismäki.
DRIFTING CLOUDS
Finland (1996), 90 minutes
Among Kaurismäki's finest films, 'Drifting Clouds' follows the dwindling fortunes of restaurant hostess Ilona and her tram driver husband Lauri, who find themselves unemployed at the same time. Embarking on an unforgiving search for work in a recession-hit Helsinki, Kaurismäki's comic masterpiece transforms the pair's plight into a hugely affecting story of hope and survival.
JUHA
Finland (1999), 77 minutes
Kaurismäki brings his trademark wistfulness, irony and absurdist humour to the conventions of the silent film, utilising beautiful black and white photography, inter-titles and a lush, melodramatic score. Following the fortunes of Juha, an earnest farm worker whose wife is seduced away from him by a city slicker, the film is both a tribute to and a parody of the genre, delightfully peppered with references to Kaurismäki's cinematic heroes.
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