Nikander drivers a garbage-truck. He's a lonely man. As it happens, Nikander meets Ilona, a supermarket clerk. One cannot exactly say that there is an instant spark because both of these people play it cool. They are afraid of each other, afraid of love, of closeness. The odds for their love affair are bad. However, Ilona is made redundant at the supermarket and as an act of revenge, she steals a box of money. She and Nikander run away...
This is Kaurismäki at his most minimalist - I mean, he always is, but this film is rather extreme - and it is also one of his funniest films. The humor lies in the sheer deadpan of everything: the lines, the acting, the events. Kaurismäki renders his characters with dignity and tenderness. He places them in opposition to the forces of the market and snooty representatives of the wealthier classes. The soundtrack includes blues, rock n' roll and Finnish schlager - the music sets a tone for the movie, its strange sense of hope. The locations drive home the point as well: the film takes us to bingo parlors, harbors and sleazy apartments. Kaurismäki's tenderness extends to these locations as well. Shadows in Paradise is a typical Kaurismäki-film in almost every sense. This didn't prevent me from being moved by it. The magic going on here is that in every single frame the downtrodden is approached from the point of view of: life can be better, it must. Kati Outinen and Matti Pellonpää are, of course, wonderful in their understated portrayal of shyness and resilience.
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