If you’re searching for a proven precursor for the International Film Oscar race or even potential Best Picture nominees, look no further than the European Film Awards. Recent Best Film winners include Academy Award favorites such as “Triangle of Sadness,” “The Favourite,” “Cold War” and “Another Round.” This year, the European Film Academy, which determines the nominees and winners, has put the spotlight on three 2023 Cannes Film Festival breakouts: Aki Kaurismäki’s “Fallen Leaves,” Jonathan Glazer’s “The Zone of Interest” and Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall” from director Justine Triet.

Continue reading ‘The Zone of Interest,’ ‘Fallen Leaves’ & ‘Anatomy Of A Fall’ Top 2023 European Film Awards Nominations at The Playlist.

It’s been a good year for Aki Kaurismäki and his latest film “Fallen Leaves” so far. After the movie’s world premiere, it won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival back in May. And as “Fallen Leaves” made its way through the Fall festival circuit, screening at Telluride and TIFF, it also won the Fipresci Grand Prix as the Best Film Of 2023.  

Continue reading ‘Fallen Leaves’ Trailer: Aki Kaurismäki’s Wry Tragicomedy Hits Theaters On November 17 at The Playlist.

Arguably the most famous or well-known filmmaker out of Finland, director Aki Kaurismäki, has made a career out of the deadpan; absurdist comedies with minimalism, sometimes defined by Shakespearean tragedy, very still minimal camera and witty drollery. The films of his that have a larger comedic bent have said to have a lot of kinship with the films of Jim Jarmusch. Since 1983, Kaurismäki has directed over a dozen features and his latest is “Fallen Leaves” which made a triumphant and well-received return to the Cannes Film Festival earlier this year where it won the esteemed Jury Prize.

Continue reading ‘Fallen Leaves’ Teaser Trailer: Aki Kaurismäki’s Latest Wry TragiComedy Opens November 17 at The Playlist.

Boy meets girl is a tale as old as time and one that Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki has visited several times in a career that has spanned forty years, including in his latest romantic tragicomedy “Fallen Leaves.” His 20th feature film is a continuation of what’s been dubbed his Proletariat Trilogy, following “Shadows in Paradise,” “Ariel, “and “The Match Factory Girl.” While each film follows similar plotting, Kaurismäki places a direct emphasis on his unique working-class characters and a humanistic worldview, despite the external harshness of the world around them. 

Continue reading ‘Fallen Leaves’ Review: Aki Kaurismäki’s Romantic Tragicomedy Finds Love In A Hopeless Place [Karlovy Vary] at The Playlist.