Fallen Leaves movie storyline. Ansa (which means ‘trapped’ in Finnish), is single and lives in Helsinki. She works on a zero-hour contract in a supermarket, stocking the shelves; later she sorts recyclable plastic. One night she accidentally meets the equally lonely worker Holappa, an alcoholic.
Against all odds and misunderstandings, they try to build a relationship. As a result, Holappa manages to get his alcohol addiction under control. According to Alma Pöysti, the female lead, “the film is about lonely people with baggage, who meet later in life. It takes courage to fall in love later in life.” It has been described as a tragicomedy.
Fallen Leaves (Finnish: Kuolleet Lehdet) is a 2023 Finnish-German comedy-drama film written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki. It is Kaurismäki’s 20th full-length film and a continuation of his Proletariat series, which was originally planned as a trilogy and already includes Shadows in Paradise (1986), Ariel (1988), and The Match Factory Girl (1990). Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen star in the main roles. The film is produced by Sputnik and Bufo.
Fallen Leaves was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it had its world premiere on 22 May 2023. International sales are handled by The Match Factory. In May 2023, Mubi acquired the distribution rights for North America, UK, Ireland, Latin America and Turkey. In the United States, the film was released on 17 November.
Fallen Leaves competed for the Palme d’Or at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Jury Prize. It is also selected as the Finnish entry for the Best International Feature Film award at the upcoming 96th Academy Awards.
The film was screened at the Midnight Sun Film Festival on 17 June 2023. It was also invited to the 27th Lima Film Festival in the Acclaimed section, where it was screened on 10 August 2023. Following screenings at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival and 2023 New York Film Festival.
It was released in Germany by Pandora Film on 14 September 2023, under the title Fallende Blätter. B-Plan Distribution theatrically released the film in Finland on 15 September 2023. It was also invited at the 28th Busan International Film Festival in ‘Icon’ section and was screened on 6 October 2023.
Fallen Leaves (2023)
Kuolleet Lehdet
Directed by: Aki Kaurismäki
Starring: Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen, Janne Hyytiäinen, Nuppu Koivu, Matti Onnismaa, Simon Al-Bazoon, Martti Suosalo, Alma-Koira, Sakari Kuosmanen, Maria Heiskanen, Alina Tomnikov, Juho Kuosmanen
Screenplay by: Aki Kaurismäki
Cinematography by: Timo Salminen
Film Editing by: Samu Heikkilä
Costume Design by: Tiina Kaukanen
Set Decoration by: Aino Kaurismäki
Art Direction by: Ville Grönroos
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: B-Plan Distribution, Pandora Film
Release Date: May 22, 2023 (Cannes), September 14, 2023 (Germany), September 15, 2023 (Finland), November 17, 2023 (United States)
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