Aki Kaurismäki
| Aki Kaurismäki | |
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 Aki Kaurismäki (left) and Ville Virtanen in 2011 |
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| Born | Aki Olavi Kaurismäki 4 April 1957 Orimattila, Finland |
| Occupation | Film director, producer and screenwriter |
| Awards | 'Cannes Grand Prix 2002 The Man Without a Past Cannes Ecumenical Jury Special Mention 1996 Drifting Clouds Cannes Prize of the Ecumenical Jury 2002 The Man Without a Past Jussi for Best Film 2006 Lights in the Dusk Jussi fot Best Debut Film 1983 Crime and Punishment Jussi for Best Script 1983 Crime and Punishment 1996 Drifting Clouds 2002 The Man Without a Past 'Le Havré (2011 film)Jussi for Best Direction 1990 The Match Factory Girl 1992 La vie de bohème 1996 Drifting Clouds 2002 The Man Without a Past São Paulo Audience Award for Best Feature 1996 Drifting Clouds |
Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (Finnish pronunciation: [ˈɑki ˈkɑurismæki] (
listen); born 4 April 1957, Orimattila, Finland) is a Finnish screenwriter and film director.
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[edit] Career
After studying Media Studies at the University of Tampere, Aki Kaurismäki started his career as a co-director in the films of his elder brother Mika Kaurismäki. His debut as an independent director was Crime and Punishment (1983), Dostoyevsky's famous crime story set in modern-day Helsinki. He gained worldwide notice with his movie Leningrad Cowboys Go America.
His style has been influenced by the French directors Jean-Pierre Melville and Robert Bresson, as he relies on low-key acting and simple cinematic storytelling to get his message(s) across. Critics have also seen an influence from Rainer Werner Fassbinder but Kaurismäki - a keen film buff himself - has said that he somehow never got around to seeing any Fassbinder movies until quite recently. His movies have a unique downplayed humorous side that can also be seen in the films of Jim Jarmusch, who has a cameo in Kaurismäki's film Leningrad Cowboys Go America. Jarmusch also used frequent Kaurismäki actors in his film Night on Earth, a part of which takes place in Helsinki, Finland.
Much of his work is centred on Helsinki, his native city, particularly Calamari Union which is largely set in the working class neighbourhood of Kallio, and the trilogy that comprises Shadows in Paradise, Ariel, and The Match Factory Girl. His vision of Helsinki is, it should be noted, both critical and singularly unromantic. Indeed, the characters often speak about how they wish to get away from Helsinki: some end up in Mexico (Ariel), others in Estonia (Calamari Union and Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatjana). The setting is the 1980s, even in the more recent movies, or there are references to the 70's and 80's eras.
[edit] Awards and protests
In terms of awards, Kaurismäki's most successful movie has been The Man Without a Past. It won the Grand Prix and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival[1] and was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category in 2003. However, Kaurismäki refused to attend the gala, noting that he didn't particularly feel like partying in a nation that is currently in a state of war. Kaurismäki's next film Lights in the Dusk was also chosen to be Finland's nominee in the category for best foreign film. Kaurismäki again decided to boycott the Awards and refused the nomination as a protest against U.S. President George W. Bush's foreign policy.
In 2003, in one of his most famous protests, Kaurismäki boycotted the 40th New York Film Festival as a show of solidarity with Iranian director Abbas Kiarostami who was not given a US visa in time for the festival.[2]
[edit] Filmography
[edit] Feature films
- Crime and Punishment, 1983
- Calamari Union, 1985
- Shadows in Paradise, 1986
- Hamlet Goes Business, 1987
- Ariel, 1988
- Likaiset kädet (Les mains sales), 1989 (production for Finnish TV)
- Leningrad Cowboys Go America, 1989
- The Match Factory Girl, 1990
- I Hired a Contract Killer, 1990
- La Vie de Bohème, 1992
- Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana, 1994
- Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses, 1994
- Drifting Clouds, 1996
- Juha, 1999
- The Man Without a Past, 2002
- Lights in the Dusk, 2006
- Le Havre, 2011[3]
[edit] Documentaries
- Saimaa-ilmiö, 1981
- Total Balalaika Show, 1994
[edit] Short films
- Rocky VI, 1986 (8 min)
- Thru the Wire, 1987 (6 min)
- Rich Little Bitch, 1987 (6 min)
- L.A. Woman, 1987 (5 min)
- Those Were The Days, 1991 (5 min)
- These Boots, 1992 (5 min)
- Oo aina ihminen, 1995 (5 min)
- Välittäjä, 1996 (4 min)
- Dogs Have No Hell, 2002 (10 minute episode in the collaborative film Ten Minutes Older - The Trumpet)
- Bico, 2004 (5 minute episode in the collaborative film Visions of Europe)
- The Foundry, 2006 (3 minute episode in the collaborative film To Each His Own Cinema)
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Roger Connah K/K: A Couple of Finns and Some Donald Ducks: Cinema and Society. VAPK Pub., Helsinki, 1991
- Ródenas, Gabri (2008), "The Poetry of Silence" in http://www.orimattila.fi/kirjasto/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=212&Itemid=94, Orimattila Town Library.
- Pilar Carrera: "El cineasta que vino del frío (Bico-Visión)" ("The moviemaker who came in from the cold"): http://e-spacio.uned.es/fez/view.php?pid=bibliuned:signa-2011-n.20-11
[edit] References
- ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Man Without a Past". festival-cannes.com. http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/archives/ficheFilm/id/3103023/year/2002.html. Retrieved 2009-10-25.
- ^ Bohlen, Celestine (2002-10-01). "One Visa Problem Costs a Festival Two Filmmakers". New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E6D81538F932A35753C1A9649C8B63. Retrieved 2008-09-05.
- ^ "Match Factory picks up Kaurismäki’s Le Havre"
[edit] External links
- Siunattu teknologia!, comprehensive fan site of the films of Kaurismäki brothers.
- Aki Kaurismäki by Orimattila Town Library.
- Aki Kaurismäki profile at Senses of Cinema
- Aki Kaurismäki- thisisFINLAND
- In-depth interview with Aki Kaurismaki
- 'I am a Lousy Film-maker' - Interview with Aki Kaurismaki
- Kaurismäki refuses to allow Oscar nomination
- Aki Kaurismäki at the Internet Movie Database
- WiderScreen.fi 2/2007, articles about Aki Kaurismäki.
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