Drifting Clouds (1996) ( Kauas pilvet karkaavat ) ( Far Away the Clouds Escape )

Drifting Clouds (1996) (Blu-Ray) (*)

~~$20.99~~ $17.98

Original Title: Kauas pilvet karkaavat
Alternate Title: Far Away the Clouds Escape
Screened, competed or awarded at:
Cannes Film Festival
Other Film Festival Awards

Language Selections:
Danish ( Subtitles )
English ( Subtitles )
Finnish ( Dolby Digital 5.1 )
Finnish ( Dolby DTS-HD Master Audio )
Finnish ( Subtitles )
Norwegian ( Subtitles )
Swedish ( Subtitles )

Product Origin/Format:
Finland ( Blu-Ray/Region A/B/C )

Running Time:
95 min + 18 min extras

Aspect Ratio:
Widescreen (1.78:1)

Special Features:
Interactive Menu
Scene Access
Short Film

Movie filmed in 1996 and produced in:
Finland ( Scandinavia, Iceland )

Directed By:
Aki Kaurismaki

Written By:
Aki Kaurismaki

Actors:
Kati Outinen ..... Ilona
Kari Väänänen ..... Lauri
Elina Salo ..... Rouva Sjöholm (Mrs. Sjöholm)
Sakari Kuosmanen ..... Melartin
Markku Peltola ..... Lajunen
Matti Onnismaa ..... Forsström
Matti Pellonpää ..... Lapsi valokuvassa (Child in the Photograph)
Pietari ..... Pietari
Shelley Fisher ..... Pianisti (Pianist)
Markus Allan ..... Orkesteri (Band)
Pauli Granfelt ..... Orkesteri (Band)
Kari Lindqvist ..... Orkesteri (Band)
Pentti Mutikainen ..... Orkesteri (Band)
Tommi Parkkonen ..... Orkesteri (Band)
Taisto Wesslin ..... Orkesteri (Band)

Synopsis:

A married couple struggles with the repercussions of unexpected unemployment in this wry comedy drama from Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismaki. Ilona, the wife, works as restaurant hostess and her husband Lauri drives a tram. Though the couple has recently lost a child, they both seem at peace and happy. One night Ilona comes home and finds that Lauri has purchased a beautiful television on credit. Shortly thereafter disaster strikes when Ilona's workplace closes and Lauri gets caught in a maelstrom of downsizing. Neither is able to find suitable work right away and as time crawls by, they become humiliated and testy with each other. Eventually Ilona gets a job cooking and bartending in a nameless sleazy dive while her husband, after having to sell their television and car, turns to booze. Things look bad for the marriage when suddenly Ilona decides to open a restaurant. With the backing of her former boss and using her coworkers, she and Lauri open the successful Worker's Rest café and find renewed hope.

An early episode in Drifting Clouds encapsulates the wry, droll, yet affectionate fusion of pathos and comedy that has come to define Aki Kaurismäki's idiosyncratic cinema. A diligent and conscientious maître d' named Ilona (Kati Outinen) attends to the dwindling, aging clientele of a once popular, upscale postwar restaurant called Dubrovnik, before being summoned into the kitchen for an emergency. The head chef (Markku Peltola) has been found in a drunken state again, and is brandishing a knife in front of the staff to prevent confiscation of his alcohol. The burly porter, Melartin (Sakari Kuosmanen), confronts the inebriated chef off camera and returns into frame clasping his bloodied, injured wrist from the scuffle. The slight and delicate Ilona then steps in (and off camera), a slap is heard, and Ilona reemerges in the foreground with the kitchen knife and two liquor bottles, followed by the dejected and visibly apologetic chef.

Ilona Koponen (Kati Outinen), a head waitress at Dubrovnik restaurant, is married to Lauri (Kari Väänänen), a tram driver. The couple live in a small, modestly furnished apartment in Helsinki. As they both come home from work late one night, Lauri surprises Ilona with a new television which he purchased on store credit. There is a short discussion between the two regarding their ability to meet their financial obligations but they agree that the TV payments are manageable.

This product was added to our catalog on Wednesday 16 October, 2013.

Customers who bought this product also purchased

Le Havre (2011) (Blu-Ray)	Calamari Union (DVD)	City of Joy (1992) (Blu-Ray)
Dingo (1991) (Blu-Ray)	Under the Sun of Satan (1987) (Blu-Ray)	The Naked Dawn (DVD)