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'''''Ariel''''' is a 1988 Finnish [[Drama (film and television)|drama film]] directed and written by [[Aki Kaurismäki]]. The film tells the story of Taisto Kasurinen (Turo Pajala), a Finnish coal miner who must find a way to live in the big city after the mine closes.
'''''Ariel''''' is a 1988 Finnish drama film directed and written by [[Aki Kaurismäki]]. The film tells the story of Taisto Kasurinen (Turo Pajala), a Finnish miner who must find a way to live in the big city after the mine closes.


Taisto's friend is played by [[Matti Pellonpää]], an actor who appeared in many of Kaurismäki's early films, before his death in 1995.
Taisto's friend is played by [[Matti Pellonpää]], an actor who appeared in many of Kaurismäki's early films, before his death in 1995.


This is the second film in Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy (''[[Shadows in Paradise]]'', ''Ariel'', and ''[[The Match Factory Girl]]''). The trilogy has been released on [[Region One DVD]] by [[Criterion Collection|Criterion]], in their [[List of Eclipse releases|Eclipse]] box-sets.<ref>[http://www.criterion.com/boxsets/564-eclipse-series-12-aki-kaurismakis-proletariat-trilogy]</ref> The film is included in the ''[[1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die]]'' list. The film was entered into the [[16th Moscow International Film Festival]] where [[Turo Pajala]] won the Bronze St. George for Best Actor.<ref name="Moscow1989">{{cite web|url=http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1989 |title=16th Moscow International Film Festival (1989) |accessdate=2013-02-24 |work=MIFF |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316085017/http://moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1989 |archivedate=2013-03-16 }}</ref>
This is the second film in Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy (''[[Shadows in Paradise (1986 film)|Shadows in Paradise]]'', ''Ariel'', and ''[[The Match Factory Girl]]''). The trilogy has been released on [[Region One DVD]] by [[Criterion Collection|Criterion]] in its Eclipse box-sets.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.criterion.com/boxsets/564-eclipse-series-12-aki-kaurismakis-proletariat-trilogy|title = Eclipse Series 12: Aki Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy}}</ref> The film is included in the ''[[1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die]]'' list. The film was entered into the [[16th Moscow International Film Festival]], where [[Turo Pajala]] won the Bronze St. George for Best Actor.<ref name="Moscow1989">{{cite web|url=http://www.moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1989 |title=16th Moscow International Film Festival (1989) |accessdate=2013-02-24 |work=MIFF |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20130316085017/http://moscowfilmfestival.ru/miff34/eng/archives/?year=1989 |archivedate=2013-03-16}}</ref>


Kaurismäki has called Ariel his best movie.<ref>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2suTdb6AvJ0</ref>
Kaurismäki has called ''Ariel'' his best film in his career.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2suTdb6AvJ0|title = Aki Kaurismäki 2015 interview|website = [[YouTube]]}}</ref>


==Plot==
==Plot==
In Finnish Lapland, a group of coal miners are demolishing the redundant mine that has provided their income for years. One of the miners freshly out of work, Taisto Kasurinen (Turo Pajala), sits in a cafe with his depressed father, who gives Taisto the keys to his old white Cadillac convertible, then walks into the men's room and shoots himself. Kasurinen drives the convertible to Southern Finland, where he is promptly mugged and his life savings stolen. He gets a day-labor job and finds a cheap bed at a nearby hostel.
A mine gets closed in Finnish Lapland, putting a number of miners including Taisto Kasurinen (Turo Pajala), out of work. In a cafe, an older miner advises Kasurinen that there is no future in mining. He gives Kasurinen the keys to an old (1962) white Cadillac convertible, then walks into the men's room and shoots himself. Kasurinen drives the convertible to Southern Finland, where he is mugged and has his life savings stolen. He gets a day-labor job and finds a cheap bed at a nearby hostel.


Kasurinen strikes up a romance with Irmeli, a metermaid who was ticketing his car, who quits her job in order to go to dinner with him during her shift. In bed together at her home, they discuss their pasts - Irmeli recounting her ex-husband and Kasurinen telling her that he is from the country, to which she replies, "that's different." He is woken up by Irmeli's young son holding a gun in his face and offering him breakfast.
Impressed with the Cadillac, metermaid Irmeli flirts with Kasurinen. Rather than waiting for her shift to end, she quits her job to accept his dinner invitation. In bed together at her home, they discuss their pasts. Irmeli recounts stories of her ex-husband and Kasurinen tells her that he is from the country, to which she replies "that's different". He is woken up by Irmeli's young son holding a gun in his face and offering him breakfast.


Kasurinen is kicked out of the hostel when he fails to pay for his bed and begins sleeping in his car. In need of money, he reluctantly sells it. He drifts around the city, occasionally smoking cigarette butts left in ashtrays. While sitting in a diner, he spots one of the men who robbed him, chases him, grabs the knife the man pulls out and holds him at knifepoint. The police arrive and Kasurinen is arrested and charged with attempted armed robbery. He is sentenced to 111 days in jail. As he is leaving the courtroom, he makes eye contact with a distressed Irmeli from across the room.
Kasurinen is kicked out of the hostel when he fails to pay for his bed and begins sleeping in his car. In need of money, he reluctantly sells it. He drifts around the city, occasionally smoking cigarette butts left in ashtrays. While sitting in a diner, he spots one of the men who robbed him, chases him, grabs the knife the man pulls out and holds him at knifepoint. The police arrest Kasurinen for attempted armed robbery. He is sentenced to nearly two years in jail. As he is leaving the courtroom, he makes eye contact with a distressed Irmeli from across the room.


In prison, Kasurinen meets his cellmate Mikkonen (Matti Pellonpää). Irmeli and her son visit him regularly. On one visit, Kasurinen proposes marriage to Irmeli, who accepts. Later, Irmeli delivers a birthday cake and a present with a saw inside it to Taisto at the prison. He and Mikkonen use the saw to create a weapon with which to escape. Outside, Kasurinen and Irmeli get married. A series of misadventures ensues as Kasurinen and Mikkonen try to avoid the law and scrape together some money for fake passports by robbing a bank. Mikkonen is fatally wounded after he gets into a dispute over money with the men providing the passports. Taisto buries his friend at a local dump (as was requested) before he uses the fake passport to board a boat to Mexico with Irmeli and her son, hoping to find a better life.
Kasurinen proposes marriage to Irmeli during one of her visits to prison and Irmeli accepts. Later, Irmeli brings him a birthday cake and a book with a saw inside it. He and his cellmate Mikkonen (Matti Pellonpää) escape together. Outside, Kasurinen and Irmeli get married. Kasurinen and Mikkonen rob a bank to fund their journey out of the country. The men who had promised them passports stab Mikkonen in order to get the loot for themselves. Kasurinen shoots them dead but is unable to save Mikkonen. Film ends with Kasurinen, Irmeli and her son boarding a ship named ''Ariel'', heading to Mexico.


==Cast==
==Cast==
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== Home media ==
== Home media ==
A digitally restored version of the film was released on DVD by [[The Criterion Collection]] as part of their Eclipse Series.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ariel|url=http://www.criterion.com/films/959-ariel|work=[[The Criterion Collection]]|last=Kaurismäki|first=Aki}}</ref>
A digitally restored version of the film was released on DVD by [[The Criterion Collection]] as part of its Eclipse Series.<ref>{{cite web|title=Ariel|url=http://www.criterion.com/films/959-ariel|work=[[The Criterion Collection]]|last=Kaurismäki|first=Aki}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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* {{AllMovie title|2815}}
* {{AllMovie title|2815}}
* {{BBFC title|AZF062093}}
* {{BBFC title|AZF062093}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20170421190007/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b79d7571e Ariel] at the [[British Film Institute]]{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
* {{BFI|4ce2b79d7571e}}
* {{Elonet title|115894}}
* {{Elonet title|115894}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|1034135_ariel}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|1034135_ariel}}
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[[Category:1988 films]]
[[Category:1988 films]]
[[Category:Films directed by Aki Kaurismäki]]
[[Category:Films directed by Aki Kaurismäki]]
[[Category:Finnish films]]
[[Category:1980s Finnish-language films]]
[[Category:Finnish-language films]]
[[Category:1980s Finnish films]]
[[Category:1980s drama road movies]]
[[Category:1980s drama road movies]]
[[Category:Finnish drama films]]
[[Category:Finnish drama films]]

Latest revision as of 12:35, 24 November 2024

Ariel
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAki Kaurismäki
Written byAki Kaurismäki
Produced byAki Kaurismäki
Starring
CinematographyTimo Salminen
Edited byRaija Talvio
Music by
Production
company
Villealfa Filmproductions
Distributed byFinnkino
Release date
  • 21 October 1988 (1988-10-21)
Running time
72 minutes[1]
CountryFinland
LanguageFinnish

Ariel is a 1988 Finnish drama film directed and written by Aki Kaurismäki. The film tells the story of Taisto Kasurinen (Turo Pajala), a Finnish miner who must find a way to live in the big city after the mine closes.

Taisto's friend is played by Matti Pellonpää, an actor who appeared in many of Kaurismäki's early films, before his death in 1995.

This is the second film in Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy (Shadows in Paradise, Ariel, and The Match Factory Girl). The trilogy has been released on Region One DVD by Criterion in its Eclipse box-sets.[2] The film is included in the 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die list. The film was entered into the 16th Moscow International Film Festival, where Turo Pajala won the Bronze St. George for Best Actor.[3]

Kaurismäki has called Ariel his best film in his career.[4]

Plot

[edit]

A mine gets closed in Finnish Lapland, putting a number of miners including Taisto Kasurinen (Turo Pajala), out of work. In a cafe, an older miner advises Kasurinen that there is no future in mining. He gives Kasurinen the keys to an old (1962) white Cadillac convertible, then walks into the men's room and shoots himself. Kasurinen drives the convertible to Southern Finland, where he is mugged and has his life savings stolen. He gets a day-labor job and finds a cheap bed at a nearby hostel.

Impressed with the Cadillac, metermaid Irmeli flirts with Kasurinen. Rather than waiting for her shift to end, she quits her job to accept his dinner invitation. In bed together at her home, they discuss their pasts. Irmeli recounts stories of her ex-husband and Kasurinen tells her that he is from the country, to which she replies "that's different". He is woken up by Irmeli's young son holding a gun in his face and offering him breakfast.

Kasurinen is kicked out of the hostel when he fails to pay for his bed and begins sleeping in his car. In need of money, he reluctantly sells it. He drifts around the city, occasionally smoking cigarette butts left in ashtrays. While sitting in a diner, he spots one of the men who robbed him, chases him, grabs the knife the man pulls out and holds him at knifepoint. The police arrest Kasurinen for attempted armed robbery. He is sentenced to nearly two years in jail. As he is leaving the courtroom, he makes eye contact with a distressed Irmeli from across the room.

Kasurinen proposes marriage to Irmeli during one of her visits to prison and Irmeli accepts. Later, Irmeli brings him a birthday cake and a book with a saw inside it. He and his cellmate Mikkonen (Matti Pellonpää) escape together. Outside, Kasurinen and Irmeli get married. Kasurinen and Mikkonen rob a bank to fund their journey out of the country. The men who had promised them passports stab Mikkonen in order to get the loot for themselves. Kasurinen shoots them dead but is unable to save Mikkonen. Film ends with Kasurinen, Irmeli and her son boarding a ship named Ariel, heading to Mexico.

Cast

[edit]
  • Turo Pajala as Taisto Kasurinen
  • Susanna Haavisto as Irmeli
  • Matti Pellonpää as Mikkonen
  • Eetu Hilkamo as Riku
  • Erkki Pajala as miner
  • Matti Jaaranen as mugger
  • Hannu Viholainen as accomplice
  • Jorma Markkula as tallyman
  • Tarja Keinänen as woman in the harbour
  • Eino Kuusela as man on the beach

Home media

[edit]

A digitally restored version of the film was released on DVD by The Criterion Collection as part of its Eclipse Series.[5]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Ariel". British Board of Film Classification. 30 June 1989.
  2. ^ "Eclipse Series 12: Aki Kaurismäki's Proletariat Trilogy".
  3. ^ "16th Moscow International Film Festival (1989)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
  4. ^ "Aki Kaurismäki 2015 interview". YouTube.
  5. ^ Kaurismäki, Aki. "Ariel". The Criterion Collection.
[edit]
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