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Highlights

Shadows in Paradise (1990)

Audience Score
73
NR 1 hr 14 minAug 23rd, 1990Drama, Comedy, RomanceAki Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy PosterPart of Aki Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy
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Nikander, a rubbish collector and would-be entrepreneur, finds his plans for success dashed when his business associate dies. One evening, he meets Ilona, a down-on-her-luck cashier, in a local supermarket. Falteringly, a bond begins to develop between them.

Movie Details

Theatrical Release:August 23rd, 1990
Original Language:Finnish
Production Companies:Villealfa Filmproductions

Aki Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy

The poignant, deadpan films of Aki Kaurismäki are pitched somewhere in the wintry nether lands between comedy and tragedy. And rarely in his body of work has the line separating those genres seemed thinner than in what is often identified as his "Proletariat Trilogy," Shadows in Paradise, Ariel, and The Match Factory Girl. In these three films, something like social-realist farces, Kaurismäki surveys the working-class outcasts of his native Finland with detached yet disarming amusement. Featuring commanding, off-key visual compositions and delightfully dour performances, the films in this triptych exemplify the talents of a unique and highly influential film artist.