Aki Kaurismäki Collection (Vol. 1) - 3-DVD Box Set ( Varjoja paratiisissa / Ariel / Tulitikkutehtaan tyttö ) ( Shadows in Paradise / Ariel / The Match Factory Girl )

Aki Kaurismäki Collection (Vol. 1) - 3-DVD Box Set (DVD) (*)

Out of Stock

Original Title: Varjoja paratiisissa / Ariel / Tulitikkutehtaan tyttö
Alternate Title: Shadows in Paradise / Ariel / The Match Factory Girl
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Berlin International Film Festival
European Film Awards
Moscow International Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
English ( Subtitles )
Finnish ( Dolby Digital 2.0 )

Product Origin/Format:
United Kingdom ( PAL/Region 2 )

Running Time:
206 min

Aspect Ratio:
Fullscreen

Special Features:
3-DVD Set
Box Set
Collectors Edition
Interactive Menu
Scene Access

Movie filmed in 1986 - 1990 and produced in:
Finland ( Scandinavia, Iceland )
Sweden ( Scandinavia, Iceland )

Directed By:
Aki Kaurismaki

Written By:
Aki Kaurismaki

Actors:
Matti Pellonpää ..... Nikander
Kati Outinen ..... Ilona Rajamäki
Sakari Kuosmanen ..... Melartin
Esko Nikkari ..... Co-worker (työkaveri)
Kylli Köngäs ..... Ilona's Girlfriend (ystävätär)
Pekka Laiho ..... Shop Steward (myymälänhoitaja)
Jukka-Pekka Palo ..... Third Man (kolmasmies)
Svante Korkiakoski ..... Police (poliisi)
Mari Rantasila ..... Nikander's Sister (Nikanderin sisar)
Safka Pekkonen ..... Pianist (pianisti)
Antti Ortamo ..... 2nd pianist (pianisti II)
Mato Valtonen ..... Pelle
Sakke Järvenpää ..... Staffan
Ulla Kuosmanen ..... Melartin's wife (Melartinin vaimo)
Neka Haapanen ..... Cook (kokki)
Turo Pajala ..... Taisto Kasurinen
Susanna Haavisto ..... Irmeli Pihlaja
Matti Pellonpää ..... Mikkonen
Eetu Hilkamo ..... Riku
Erkki Pajala ..... Kaivosmies
Matti Jaaranen ..... Pahoinpitelijä
Hannu Viholainen ..... Apuri
Jorma Markkula ..... Prikkamies
Tarja Keinänen ..... Nainen Satamassa
Eino Kuusela ..... Mies rannalla
Kauko Laalo ..... Asuntolanhoitaja
Jyrki Olsonen ..... Mies Asuntolassa
Esko Nikkari ..... Autokauppias
Marja Packalén ..... Tuomari
Mikko Remes ..... Vankilalääkäri
Kati Outinen ..... Iiris
Elina Salo ..... Mother
Esko Nikkari ..... Stepfather
Vesa Vierikko ..... Aarne
Reijo Taipale ..... The singer
Silu Seppälä ..... Iiris' brother
Outi Mäenpää ..... Iiris' co-worker
Marja Packalén ..... The doctor
Richard Reitinger ..... Man in the bar
Helka Viljanen ..... Office employee
Kurt Siilas ..... Policeman
Ismo Keinänen ..... Policeman
Klaus Heydemann ..... Worker
Erkki Friman ..... Member of dance band
Tapani Ikonen ..... Member of dance band

Synopsis:

Cult Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki is internationally renowned for his distinctively spare and deadpan character studies of society's also-rans. This three disc set contains his acclaimed 'Underdog Trilogy', which finds Kaurismäki at the height of his sardonic humanist powers. Set Comprises:

Shadows in Paradise (1986): Kaurismäki regulars Matti Pellonpää and Kati Outinen star in this offbeat yet remarkably touching romantic comedy.

Ariel (1988): Acclaimed as one of Kaurismäki's most accomplished early films, 'Ariel' follows the exploits of the laconic Taisto, a newly-unemployed Lapland miner who sets off in a Cadillac convertible for a fresh start in Helsinki.

The Match Factory Girl (1990): This blackly comic minimalist masterpiece stars Kati Outinen as Iiris, a shy and dowdy young woman stuck in a dead-end job on a match factory production line.

Shadows in Paradise (1986)
Only connect. In gray, class-conscious Helsinki, Nikander is a stoic, solitary garbage man. Cigarettes, coffee, bingo games, and English lessons border his circumscribed life. There are few words, no smiles, and no laughter. Violence and the threat of violence seem close at hand. Ilona, a supermarket clerk who frequently loses her job, bandages Nikander's hand one evening; later he gets her out of a jam, and they begin an on-again off-again relationship. 'Why do I keep losing?,' Nikander asks his co-worker, Melartin, a man Nikander met in jail and helped get a job. Can he break his losing streak?

Ariel (1988)
The movie tells the story of Taisto Kasurinen, a finnish coal miner whose father has just committed suicide and who is framed for a crime he did not commit. In jail, he starts to dream about leaving the country and starting a new life. He escapes from prison but things don't go as planned...

The Match Factory Girl (1990)
The Match Factory Girl is a Finnish/ Swedish coproduction. Kati Outinen plays the title character, trapped in a deadly dull job and an even deadlier duller home life. Against her family's wishes, she purchases a bright red dress and heads out for a night on the town. She spends the evening with a handsome wealthy man, who shows how significant this sexual pairing is by leaving her alone the next morning with a large sum of money. Not wishing to tell her parents of her misadventure, Outinen splits the money with her brother, then waits in vain for her ''lover'' to return. When she finds she is pregnant, she writes a syrupy note to her erstwhile swain, who coldly sends her money and instructs her to get an abortion. Even her family turns on her when her condition becomes obvious. With her remaining savings, Outinen purchases a generous supply of rat poison--not for herself, but for all the people who did her dirt throughout the film.

Cult Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki is internationally renowned for his distinctively spare and deadpan character studies of society's also-rans. This three disc set contains his acclaimed 'Underdog Trilogy', which finds Kaurismäki at the height of his sardonic humanist powers. Set Comprises:

Shadows in Paradise (1986): Kaurismäki regulars Matti Pellonpää and Kati Outinen star in this offbeat yet remarkably touching romantic comedy. Pellonpää plays Nikander, a rubbish collector and wouldbe entrepreneur who finds his plans for success dashed with the unexpected death of his business associate. Whilst searching for a job, he meets Ilona (Outinen) a down-on- her luck cashier in a local supermarket and, falteringly, a bond begins to develop between them.

Ariel (1988): Acclaimed as one of Kaurismäki's most accomplished early films, 'Ariel' follows the exploits of the laconic Taisto, a newly-unemployed Lapland miner who sets off in a Cadillac convertible for a fresh start in Helsinki. Joined in his odyssey by meter maid Irmeli and her young son, Taitso's plans take a series of unexpected turns in this dryly comic and satirical melange of road movie and film noir.

The Match Factory Girl (1990): This blackly comic minimalist masterpiece stars Kati Outinen as Iiris, a shy and dowdy young woman stuck in a dead-end job on a match factory production line. She dreams of finding love at the local dancehall, but her attempts are constantly foiled by her selfish parents and the callous behaviour of would-be suitors. Finding herself pregnant after a one-night stand and abandoned by the father, Iiris finally decides the time has come to get even and she begins to plot her revenge.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 08 February, 2012.

Customers who bought this product also purchased

Aki Kaurismäki Collection: Vol. 2 - 3-DVD Box Set (DVD)