A married couple lose their jobs, but one day the wife (Kati Outinen), a waitress, happens to meet her former boss and a new restaurant venture takes shape. Finnish misery from a man who can master it, but the Aki Kaurismäki universe does not necessarily have to inspire suicide; things may look dark for a while but there is a bright side to life… The humor is moderate yet drastic, which is quite an achievement; the director has a way of combining credible everyday life with the absurd and stylized. Illustrating characters and stories this dramatic and comprehensive with acting this subdued is gutsy, but it works – Outinen and Kari Väänänen are quietly charming as simple and genuine people.
1996-Finland. 96 min. Color. Produced, written and directed by Aki Kaurismäki. Cast: Kati Outinen (Ilona Koponen), Kari Väänänen (Lauri Koponen), Elina Salo (Mrs Sjöholm), Sakari Kuosmanen, Matti Onnismaa, Markku Peltola.
Trivia: Original title: Kauas pilvet karkaavat. The movie is dedicated to Matti Pellonpää, star of several Kaurismäki films, who died in 1995. You can spot him here as a child in a photo. The film is the first in a trilogy that continues with The Man Without a Past (2002).
