Criterion has been wonderful to Jim Jarmusch in the past; their editions of Down By Law, Stranger Than Paradise and Night on Earth are all worth owning. And it’s nice to see that they’ve finally included in their oeuvre some works from Finnish art-houser Aki Kaurismaki. It’s easy to call Kaurismaki the Finnish Jarmusch (or to call Jarmusch the American Kaurismaki) because their styles have a certain echo between them. While Jarmusch may have a broader base of cinematic interest (Kaurismaki has yet to undertake anything as narratively fantastic as Dead Man yet in his career) his films and Kaurismaki’s travel across similar emotional and characteristic landscapes.

For anyone unfamiliar with Kaurismaki’s deadpan romance (or, as is often the case, lack of romance), this Proletariat Trilogy is a fantastic place to start – these three films (Shadows in Paradise, Ariel and The Match Factory Girl) follow working folks as they go about their lives in wonderfully banal yet somehow wildly unique ways. Neither fully comedic nor blatantly tragic, this trio of pictures truly succeeds in presenting unique stories told with a near-fiendish interest in emotional unruliness.

Shadows in Paradise (1986) follows the bizarre courtship and romantic push/pull of Nikander (Matti Pellonpaa) and Ilona (Kati Outinen), a pair of laconic lovers who never quite seem comfortable in their own skins (or, until the film progresses fully, with each other). Nikander is a garbage man whose truck partner offers an opportunity for the two of them to go into business on their own only to be followed by the two dropping dead (on the job, no less). Ilona plays a store cashier who somehow finds herself entranced by Nikander, but finds him almost dumbfoundingly dull (let’s just say their first date at a local bingo parlor doesn’t exactly set her pants on fire).

But when Ilona loses her job and has no other choice but to move in with Nikander, the movie really begins mining some marvelously multi-faceted material. As these two lonely souls share living space, they both drive each other crackers and fall slowly in love. Kaurismaki never makes it easy for his two protagonists, but it’s this willingness to create complex scenarios that broadcast the director’s well-oiled storytelling prowess.

Ariel (1988) also puts its lead character into tough situations, though this time, things are decidedly more staggering. As Ariel opens, we see Taisto (Turo Pajala) lose his coal mining job, his father kill himself, and his entire savings stolen. Turns out, though, that Taisto tries to make it through this rough patch by taking the only thing he has left – a convertible left to him from his father’s estate – to Helsinki to try to find a new life for himself. But life in the big city doesn’t work out the way he thinks it will, and, as will happen in Kaurismaki movies, what starts with simple flirtation with a meter maid (Susann Haavisto) leads to more complicated situations. After a run-in with some muggers, Taisto ends up in prison (with a cellmate played by Shadows in Paradise’s Matti Pellonpaa) and concocts a wild scheme to escape, grab his ladyfriend and head for yet another new life.

The film is tonally quite similar to Shadows in Paradise, but Ariel (again, like Jarmusch’s Down by Law) is a comedy-of-errors that is far more kaleidoscopic than its straightforward style suggests. As Taisto, our beloved leading man, goes through the gauntlet of all the madness around him, and said situations get more and more outrageous and more perilous to scale, Kaurismaki is able to dive deep into the heart of his character, showing us that even when life is at its most ridiculous (almost Keystone Cops-ish), simple pleasures can really reverse negative sentiments. It’s not exactly ‘love conquers all’ – that’s far too comforting of a situation for Kaurismaki – but it’s close.

This sentiment is countered quite wonderfully with The Match Factory Girl (1990), this Proletariat Trilogy’s black-as-night finale. In the film, we follow Iris (Kati Outinen) as she goes from bad to worse. This character has a humdrum life in a matchstick factory, she lives with her boring and unappreciative parents, and when she goes out to a local dance club, she’s the only one who doesn’t have somebody to shake it with. Eventually, a man is drawn to her steely gaze and sleeps with her, but even that doesn’t go well – not only does he leave money after he finishes (as some kind of atonement for the sin he’s just performed), but Iris becomes pregnant.

What follows, though, is a kind of revenge-search that houses some of the bleakly funniest moments in this entire trilogy. It just so happens that Kaurismaki makes it so the only legitimate, authentic enjoyment Iris gets out of her miserable existence are these vengeance acts – they are the only things that she owns. It gets dark, then darker, then even darker still, but these awful acts instill a sense of legitimate satisfaction in Iris – she finally gets the feeling that she’s participating in a life rather than watching it pass by in front of her.

It’s a wild way to end such an interesting film trilogy. Kaurismaki may not be everybody’s favorite kind of filmmaker – like Jarmusch, he takes things slow – but with this collection of pictures, viewers who haven’t experienced his work have a chance to see just what his output looks like. In is world, it’s not always pretty and it’s never easy, but somehow it’s all worth it.

The Video: How Does The Disc Look?

The 1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen transfers on this set are probably the best that Eclipse series have yet seen, though they’re by no means reference-quality. Color accuracy is pretty darned sharp. Both flesh tones and the deep tones of the Finnish urban jungle come through nicely, and black levels remain solid through all three pictures on this box set. Fine detail quality is the area where things don’t completely gel; there’s a lack of distinct definition on each one of these films. Noise is also an issue, especially in the darker sequences of Shadows in Paradise. But overall, for Eclipse films, these transfers aren’t too shabby.

The Audio: How Does The Disc Sound?

The simplicity of these English Dolby Surround mixes come across nicely. Dialogue is easy to understand and well-recorded, the films’ musical scores are presented with good fidelity, and the movie’s sound effects and atmospherics are appropriately showcased without overpowering the dialogue. Long story short – these tracks are just fine.

English subtitles are included.

Supplements: What Goodies Are There?

None.

Exclusive DVD-ROM Features: What happens when you pop the disc into your PC?

There are no DVD-ROM features on this DVD.

Final Thoughts

These three Kaurismaki films make for exceptional counter-programming for a DVD season chock-full of monster blockbusters. They’re not for everyone’s tastes, but for those interested in atypical love stories, these short pictures (the longest runs 74 minutes) are an ice-cold breath of fresh air.