Two lonely souls meet by chance at a karaoke bar in Helsinki. However, their path to happiness is filled with numerous obstacles. A film by Aki Kaurismäki, starring Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen.

Ansa (Alma Pöysti) lives alone in her apartment in Helsinki. She works at a local supermarket. Her responsibilities include stocking the shelves and checking if products are nearing their expiration. If a product is near expiration, she will put a discount sticker on it using her price labeller. Otherwise, she throws it away. She has been watched by a suspicious-looking security guard.

After work, Ansa returns to her apartment, where she puts a box of expiring pre-made meal bought at the supermarket in her microwave and listens to the news broadcast on the radio while she waits. Hearing about the Russian airstrikes on a maternity and children’s hospital in Mariupol, Ukraine, deeply troubles Ansa. Her microwave chimes, interrupting her focus on the news. However, the food becomes inedible because she forgot to peel off the plastic wrap, which is now melted onto the food.

Holappa (Jussi Vatanen), a solitary man who works as a sandblaster, enjoys smoking and secretly drinks on the job. After work, while other workers head out to party in town on Friday night, Holappa prefers to read magazines alone on his bed. Holappa’s coworker, Huotari (Janne Hyytiäinen), persuades him to join him at a karaoke bar. Initially hesitant, Holappa claims that tough guys don’t sing. However, he eventually changes his mind and accompanies Huotari.

At the karaoke bar, Huotari delivers a captivating performance, earning compliments from Liisa, who sits at the next table with her friend, Ansa. Huotari attempts to charm Liisa, but she politely declines, citing his age difference. Meanwhile, Ansa and Holappa exchange shy glances, their eyes meeting only to quickly dart away. Despite their mutual interest, they remain strangers throughout the night.

The next day, Ansa is caught taking expired food that she is supposed to throw away in the waste bin. The manager fires her for violating company policy. Suddenly, Liisa confesses that she also took the expired yogurt, resulting in her being fired as well. Työkaveri (Mia Snellman) admits it was her negligence that caused the expired yogurt to be missed. The manager forgives her, but Työkaveri doesn’t agree with how the manager treated her friends, so she decides to quit on her own accord.

Driven by the need to pay her bills, Ansa takes a job as a kitchen assistant at California Pub, cleaning glasses and dishes. Returning home from work that night, she encounters a group of teenagers rummaging through the pockets of an unconscious Holappa slumped on a bench at the tram station. As Ansa approaches, the teenagers scatter. She checks on Holappa, finding him seemingly asleep, and departs on a tram before he awakens.

The next day, arriving at the pub, Ansa finds the police arresting her boss. Bystanders whisper about a drug deal gone wrong. Holappa enters, seeking beer, but the pub remains closed without the owner. Spotting Ansa, he offers to buy coffee upon learning she’s broke. At the cafe, she observes Holappa adding liquor to his coffee when he thinks she’s not looking. They later watch “THE DEAD DON’T DIE” at the cinema. After the movie, Holappa desires to see her again. She scribbles her number on paper for him. He pockets the paper, but when he asks her name, she promises to tell him next time. After Ansa leaves, Holappa pulls out a pack of cigarettes to smoke, unknowingly dropping the paper. The wind carries it away.

Written and directed by Finnish auteur Aki Kaurismäki, “KUOLLEET LEHDET” (DEAD LEAVES) is a unique romantic comedy-drama that embraces the quirky charm rarely seen in today’s cinema. Set in modern-day Helsinki, the characters exist largely outside the sphere of smartphones and social media, lending the film a nostalgic 70s vibe. The film evokes the spirit of Jacques Demy’s “Les Demoiselles de Rochefort,” with its playful obstacles to romance, yet it diverges by contrasting this theme with the reality of the Russo-Ukrainian War as a distant backdrop.

Alma Pöysti and Jussi Vatanen deliver incredible performances as Ansa and Holappa. Their portrayals look like normal people, appear refreshingly realistic and effectively convince the audience of their character embodiment. A unique aspect of the film lies in the deadpan delivery of most characters. They express their emotions subtly, amplifying the humor of their interactions.

KUOLLEET LEHDET premiered at Festival de Cannes on 22 May 2023. It was selected to compete for the Palme d’Or, where it won the Prix du Jury. The film was theatrically released in Finland on 15 Sepetember.

Prix du Jury is an award of Festival de Cannes bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. The award is intended to recognize an original work that embodies the spirit of inquiry.

KUOLLEET LEHDET was theatrically released in the United States under its English title “FALLEN LEAVES,” on 17 November.

The theme song “Kuolleet Lehdet” is a popular song based on a French song “Les Feuilles mortes” (“The Dead Leaves”) composed by Joseph Kosma in 1945. The original lyrics were written by Jacques Prévert in French. Olavi Virta was a Finnish singer, acclaimed during his time as the “King” of Finnish tango. Between 1939 and 1966 he recorded almost 600 songs, many of which are classics of Finnish popular music, and appeared in many films and theatrical productions. Olavi Virta’s Kuolleet Lehdet was released in 1958.