

Aki Kaurismäki’s 20th feature film in 40 years, Fallen Leaves, continues his legacy of proletariat protagonists, canine companions, and deadpan delights. In modern-day Helsinki, grocery clerk Ansa (Alma Pöysti) and construction laborer Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) find instant connection at a karaoke bar. However, Holappa loses Ansa’s phone number—the first obstacle of many to come in their “will they/won’t they'' relationship. Fallen Leaves is a rousing tragicomedy about two people determined to find love, happiness, and stability in their precarious world.