Aki Kaurismäki

Infobox actor


name = Aki Kaurismäki
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birthdate = birth date and age|1957|4|4
location = Orimattila, Finland
birthname = Aki Olavi Kaurismäki
othername =
occupation = Film director, producer and screenwriter
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spouse = Paula Oinonen
partner =
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website =
awards = Cannes Grand Prix
2002 "The Man Without a Past"
Cannes Ecumenical Jury Special Mention
1996 "Drifting Clouds"
Cannes Prize of the Ecumenical Jury
2002 "The Man Without a Past"
Jussi for Best Film
2006 "Lights in the Dusk"
Jussi fot Best Debut Film
1983 "Crime and Punishment"
Jussi for Best Script
1983 "Crime and Punishment"
1996 "Drifting Clouds"
2002 "The Man Without a Past"
Jussi for Best Direction
1990 "The Match Factory Girl"
1992 "La vie de bohème"
1996 "Drifting Clouds"
2002 "The Man Without a Past"
São Paulo Audience Award for Best Feature
1996 "Drifting Clouds"

Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (Audio|Fi-Aki_Kaurismäki.ogg|pronunciation) (born April 4, 1957 in Orimattila, Finland) is a Finnish script writer and film director.

Career

Aki Kaurismäki started his career as a co-director in the films of his elder brother Mika Kaurismäki. His debut as an independent director was "Crime and Punishment" (1983), Dostoevsky's famous crime story set in modern-day Helsinki.

He gained worldwide fame with his movie "Leningrad Cowboys Go America".

His style has been influenced a lot by such directors as Jean-Pierre Melville and Robert Bresson, as he relies on low-key acting and simple cinematic storytelling to get his message(s) across. Critics have also seen an influence from Rainer Werner Fassbinder but Kaurismäki - a keen film buff himself - has said that he somehow never got around to seeing any Fassbinder movies until recent years. His movies have a unique downplayed humorous side that can also be seen in the films of Jim Jarmusch, who has a cameo in Kaurismäki's film "Leningrad Cowboys Go America". Jarmusch also used frequent Kaurismäki actors in his film "Night on Earth", a part of which takes place in Helsinki, Finland.

Much of his work is centred on his native city of Helsinki, particularly "Calamari Union" which is largely set in the working class neighbourhood of Kallio, and the trilogy that comprises "Shadows in Paradise", "Ariel", and "The Match Factory Girl". His vision of Helsinki is, it should be noted, both critical and singularly unromantic. Indeed, the characters often speak about how they wish to get away from Helsinki: some end up in Mexico (Ariel), others in Estonia (Calamari Union and Take Care of Your Scarf Tatjana). The setting is the 1980s, even in the more recent movies.

Awards and protests

In terms of awards, Kaurismäki's most successful movie to date has been "The Man Without a Past". It won the Grand Prix and the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002 and was nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Foreign Language Film category in 2003. However, Kaurismäki refused to attend the gala, noting that he didn't particularly feel like partying in a nation that is currently in a state of war. Kaurismäki's next film "Lights in the Dusk" was also chosen to be Finland's nominee in the category for best foreign film. Kaurismäki again decided to boycott the Awards and refused the nomination as a protest against US President George W. Bush's foreign policy [http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20061018/ennew_afp/afpentertainmentfinland_061018161106] .
In 2003, in one of his most famous protests, Kaurismäki boycotted the 40th New York Film Festival backing his Iranian fellow director, Abbas Kiarostami who was not given a US visa in time for the festival. [cite web|url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9406E6D81538F932A35753C1A9649C8B63|title=One Visa Problem Costs a Festival Two Filmmakers|last=Bohlen|first=Celestine|date=2002-10-01|publisher=New York Times|accessdate=2008-09-05]

Filmography

Feature films

*"Crime and Punishment", 1983
*"Calamari Union", 1985
*"Shadows in Paradise", 1986
*"Hamlet Goes Business", 1987
*"Ariel", 1988
*"Likaiset kädet" ("Les mains sales"), 1989 (production for Finnish TV)
*"Leningrad Cowboys Go America", 1989
*"The Match Factory Girl", 1990
*"I Hired a Contract Killer", 1990
*"La Vie de Bohème", 1992
*"Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana", 1994
*"Leningrad Cowboys Meet Moses", 1994
*"Drifting Clouds", 1996
*"Juha", 1999
*"The Man Without a Past", 2002
*"Lights in the Dusk", 2006

Documentaries

*"Saimaa-ilmiö" ("Saimaa Gesture"), 1981
*"Total Balalaika Show", 1994

hort films

*"Rocky VI", 1986 (8 min)
*"Through the Wire", 1987 (6 min)
*"Rich Little Bitch", 1987 (6 min)
*"L.A. Woman", 1987 (5 min)
*"Those Were The Days", 1991 (5 min)
*"These Boots", 1992 (5 min)
*"Välittäjä", 1996?
*"Dogs Have No Hell", 2002 (10 minute episode in the collaborative film "Ten Minutes Older - The Trumpet")

References

*Roger Connah "K/K: A Couple of Finns and Some Donald Ducks: Cinema and Society". VAPK Pub., Helsinki, 1991 [A remarkable placement of both Aki and Mika Kaurismäki's films within Finnish society. Witty and erudite]

ee also

*Finnish cinema

References

External links

* [http://www.sci.fi/~solaris/kauris/ Siunattu teknologia!] , comprehensive fan site of the films of Kaurismäki brothers.
* [http://www.orimattila.fi/kirjasto/kaurismaki/ Aki Kaurismäki] by Orimattila Town Library.
* [http://virtual.finland.fi/netcomm/news/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=26197 Virtual Finland] Aki Kaurismäki.
* [http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/13/1047431145003.html In-depth interview with Aki Kaurismaki]
* [http://film.guardian.co.uk/interview/interviewpages/0,,875954,00.html 'I am a Lousy Film-maker' - Interview with Aki Kaurismaki]
* [http://www.hs.fi/english/article/Aki+Kaurism%C3%A4ki+refuses+to+allow+Oscar+nomination/1135222426518 Käurismäki refuses to allow Oscar nomination]
*imdb name|id=0442454|name=Aki Kaurismäki
* [http://www.widerscreen.fi/2007/2/index.htm WiderScreen.fi 2/2007] , articles about Aki Kaurismäki.