Aki Kaurismaki and the Art of Getting By
2013; Volume: 92; Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2562-2528
Autores Tópico(s)Kierkegaardian Philosophy and Influence
ResumoAki Kaurismaki has maintained an impressively steadfast devotion to the working class and society's misfits throughout his long and productive filmmaking career. Just as Yasujiro Ozu, a beloved hero of his, returned again and again to the terrain of Japanese family life and extracted from it a rich spectrum of characters and experiences, the Finnish producer, editor, writer, and director has firmly established the plight of the poor as his chief topic, remaining remarkably consistent in style and subject matter while simultaneously managing to produce works of great depth and variety. Kaurismaki's films map out the trials and tribulations of scraping a living within the harsh climate of capitalist society, following meek outcasts and sympathetic losers as they do what they can to survive and be happy. Work and romance are both key priorities in Shadows in Paradise (1986), Kaurismaki's third feature, in which lonesome garbage collector Nikander (Matti Pellonpaa, who is as familiar and nourishing a presence in Kaurismaki's cinema as Gunnar Bjornstrand or Erland Josephson in Ingmar Bergman's) awkwardly courts sullen supermarket cashier Ilona (Kati Outinen, who could be considered Kaurismaki's Liv Ullmann). Ariel (1988) irresistibly turns a quest for employment into a wild, unpredictable odyssey complete with a road trip across Finland in a Cadillac, a jailbreak, and a bank robbery while Drifting Clouds (1996) adopts a more sober approach in its tale of a courageous married couple (Outinen and Kari Vaananen) struggling to find fresh work in Helsinki. In La vie de boheme (1992), an adaptation of Henri Murger's Scenes de la vie de bobeme (1851), the fanciful Parisian adventures of three starving artists (Pellonpaa, Vaaniinen, and Andre Wilms) are jostled by the cruel realities of poverty, hunger, trouble with the law, and illness. Even in Kaurismaki's nutty cult classic Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989), the outrageously pompadoured band's journey across the United States reveals a landscape of farms, smoky factories, and dive bars packed with blue-collar patrons. Kaurismaki's camera intently captures lives spent in search of the security and comfort that a steady job and hard work should bring. The goals of work, money, and sustenance are never far from sight in his films--though they are sometimes tragically out of reach. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The distinctive fashion in which Kaurismiiki approaches such subjects has become an instantly recognizable hallmark of his cinema, consisting of a preference for vibrant colors and meticulously organized spaces, soundtracks made up of rock, blues, tango, and classical pieces, live musical performances, emotionally subdued performances from his actors, many of whom regular collaborators, and a matching sense of humor liberally sprinkled with absurdity and dark wit. His world of comically glum outsiders and deadpan rock 'n' rollers has earned him comparisons to Wes Anderson and Jim Jarmusch, a good friend of his, while the sense of artifice and discipline he wields in the crafting of his films brings to mind Anderson's own stylistic mastery as well as that of Ozu, Robert Bresson, Jacques Tati, and Roy Andersson, whose most famous works are as if Kaurismaki's comedic traits, despairing worldview, and visual tidiness were all pushed to their extremes and given a ghoulish, desaturated makeover. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Kaurismaki has miraculously achieved a perfect harmony between supremely en tertaining storytell- ng that often dips into noir and melodrama and potent social commentary, all the while somehow managing to avoid the pitfalls of cinematic escapism. Even as he basks in the glow of nostalgia, represented in his films by jukeboxes, classic cars, record players, and various other treasures from bygone eras, and indulges himself with loving references to Ozu, Bresson, Douglas Sirk, Jacques Becker, Marcel Came, Jean Vigo, and many other legendary figures from film history--not to mention the amusing guest appearances by Jean-Pierre Leaud, Samuel Fuller, Louis Malle, Pierre Etaix, and Luce Vigo, daughter of Jean--he seldom ventures far from the real-world issues he is most concerned about. …
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