RIFLE RANGE BOY

The Man Without a Past  ( Mies Vailla Menneisyyttä, Finnish; 2002) Director, Producer, Written: Aki Kaurismäki We are who we are all because of our senses. The composite of the input of senses that are fed to us, with the processing by our associative neurons and the limbic system, showcase us to the world as the unique individual that we are. Our likes, dislikes, values, beliefs, relationships, moods and personalities are all products of these inputs woven together by memory. The memory of the things that we learn along the way, paves the path to follow and adapt to the social mores that are appropriate for our surroundings. When the faculty of recollection fails, we become zombies that just follow the herd like automata. Kaurismäki's movies are acquired tastes. The acting appears robotic and the actors look expressionless. Herein lies the quirky sense of humour that hits subtly. Along the way, it is apparent that the director also hits a low blow to the modern cap...

Lights in the Dusk (2006) Written, produced and directed: Aki Kaurismäki This must surely be the bane of modern living. In contemporary times, Man lives a loner's life. He is individualistic and tries to find happiness in the company of himself. Koistinen runs life in a routine, doing things that he sees little satisfaction. He yearns for that elusive happiness, wonders where it is, contemplates where it is, questions whether it exists, wander around looking for it at all the wrong places and fails miserably. In his fear of not achieving eudaemonia, he is scared to commit himself in relationships. Perhaps because he spends too much alone, he finds sharing his living space too restrictive. He wants the freedom to explore without being tied down. He wants the cake and to eat it at the same time.  The film, which is the last instalment of Finland trilogy [Drifting Clouds (1996); The Man without a Past (2002)], keeps the theme of lonely life in that country. The...

I Hired a Contract Killer (1990) Screenplay, Production, Direction: Aki Kaurismäki When does a person consider himself a failure? Does it happen when he loses his job and is unable to sustain his existence? Or it happens when he realises that there is no future for him, nothing for him to live for? The path in front of him is just an abyss of nothingness with nothing to call his own. His life is hollow, and his interaction with others is just superficial acquaintances which end at the end of working hours or the break of dawn. Is he a loser when he is unable to provide for his loved ones? Does he lose it when the curtain draws on him and the Maker prematurely call him in? Set in the gloomy, dull days of the 70s in the United Kingdom when economic malaise was the order of the day and financial market was in the doldrums, it depicts the story of the Royal Water Works Board clerk who was retrenched. The Board is being privatised and the protagonist, Henri (...

Drifting Clouds (Finnish; 1998) Written and Directed: Aki Kaurismaki This modern world is only for the young, the well-heeled and the spendthrift. It is not interested in the older population who are less productive and tend to be miserly in their spending habits. The world revolves around generating economies, increasing debts and squeezing everyone out of their hard-earned money with the promise of giving them that elusive thing called happiness. Sure, there are avenues for one to make a living. It is hampered, however, by enslaving people to the bondage of their jobs. There is no leisure and no time to savour the fruit of their labour. At the same, people have to fulfil their biological purpose of existence and to bear the baggage that it brings, sweat, blood, tears, death and much more. Big corporate firms are only interested in the big players with big capitals. Little people with only determination and tenacity as their collateral do not excite them....