Screening: 9 October 2025
Director: Aki Kaurismäki
Cast: Alma Pöysti, Jussi Vatanen, Janne Hyytiäinen
Country: Finland, Germany
Language: Finnish, Arabic (English subtitles)
Rating: 12A
Running time: 81 minutes
Film summary
The story of two lonely people trying to find hope in bleak Helsinki, set against the backdrop of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the threat this poses to Finland. Ansa is a supermarket shelf stacker who loses her job for helping out a homeless man, and Holappa is an alcoholic struggling to keep a job or a roof over his head. Their unlikely romance seems doomed from the start, which only causes you to root for them even more.
Watch the trailer
What the critics said
“With its droll, deadpan humour and poignant central story of two lonely souls connecting, it’s the closest Kaurismäki gets to a feelgood movie (albeit a feelgood movie with incipient liver failure).”
Wendy Ide, Observer
“Fallen Leaves is a film about small ordinary people struggling to get by in an increasingly impersonal and industrial age, who hold on to their humanity and sense of hope by finding love.”
Phillip Concannon, Sight and Sound
Major awards
- Winner – Jury Prize (Aki Kaurismäki), Cannes 2023
- Nominee – Palme d’Or, Cannes 2023
- Nominee – Best Motion Picture (Non-English language), Golden Globes USA 2024
Film Club at the Roxy 