In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles – from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.

The latest film from Aki Kaurismäki is an offbeat romantic comedy about two lonely people who find each other, yet are unsure if they’re capable of committing to love. It would be accurate to describe it as quirky, with its deadpan humour and setting that seems both modern and in the past at the same time. Ostensibly we are in the present (there are repeated radio updates on the Russia/Ukraine war) yet everything else feels like the past, from the smoky bars to the old fashioned cinemas and even the way the characters interact themselves.

The characters at the centre of ‘Fallen Leaves’ are Ansa (Alma Pöysti) and Holappa (Jussi Vatanen), who meet at one of the aforementioned smoky bars one night. He has an alcohol problem, she’s been sacked for shoplifting and we’ll learn that both of them struggle to hold a job down, let alone a relationship. Their courtship plays out relatively conventionally, although ‘Fallen Leaves’ doesn’t ever feel like it’s telling a story that’s been told before, with Kaurismäki’s stylings making this tale feel original. I have seen a couple of his films before and I’m not sure they are quite for me, and ‘Fallen Leaves’ is another example – there are good moments and I sniggered a couple of times (not a full blown laugh, but it’s better than nothing!), but I couldn’t help but feel that much of this was quirky for the sake of it and that didn’t entirely work for me.

For fans of Kaurismäki’s work there will be much to enjoy in ‘Fallen Leaves’, but this tragicomedy only mildly amused me and I wasn’t as swept up in Ansa and Holappa’s tale as I’d hoped I might have been.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Aki Kaurismäki

Starring: Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen, Janne Hyytiäinen and Nuppu Koivu

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt21027780/