Fallen Leaves

Hailed as the best-reviewed film of the 2023 Cannes Film Festival - where it topped Screen International’s prestigious critics’ poll - the beguiling new comedic romance from celebrated auteur Aki Kaurismäki (Le Havre, Drifting Clouds, The Other Side Of Hope) follows two lost souls who meet by chance in the Helsinki night and then try, in turbulent times, to find companionship.

Ansa (Alma Pöysti) works at a supermarket, where the job is so badly paid that she takes home expired sandwiches for dinner. Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) is a metalworker, labouring in a job so hazardous he’s sure it will kill him, so he drinks through the day, and then again at night. Meanwhile, the radio constantly carries news about the nearby war in Ukraine.