The Films of Aki Kaurismaeki

Reviews / Votes

Aki Kaurismaki is a remarkable, complex auteur too often overlooked in Anglophone scholarship, and this vibrant new collection of essays seeks to redress that misfortune as well as fill in the gaps of extant work on the Finnish master. The book breaks new ground by closely connecting Kaurismaki's aesthetics-his distinctive mise-en-scene, cinematography, editing, and sound design (particularly with music)-to the much discussed, left-wing populist political messaging in his films. The editor, Thomas Austin, has curated a group of essays that dialogue with one another in refreshing ways while each scholar builds a unique and cogent position, illuminating diverse aspects of Kaurismaki's oeuvre; from his use of Brechtian distanciation, irony, and anachronism, to his ambivalent treatment of global capitalism and even the working classes he celebrates. * Melissa Croteau, Professor of Film Studies & Film Program Director, California Baptist University, USA * This is a notable collection on the cinema of Aki Kaurismaeki, one of the most under-researched authors in European Cinema. It would be easy to label Kaurismaeki's self-conscious and unique style, often associated with the New Sincerity movement that marks a departure from postmodernism, as predictable, but the contributors in this volume manage to avoid such aesthetic fallacy. By contrast, not only do the essays in the collection have a keen eye for the audiovisual specificity and diversity in Kaurismaeki's films, they also reflect critically on the social and political implications of his aesthetic choices. This makes the volume much more than just a study of an auteur director insofar as its essays compel us to rethink the categories of style and politically engaged filmmaking. * Tarja Laine, Assistant Professor of Film Studies, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands *