Crime and Punishment by Aki Kaurismäki

Category: Non-English

This is Aki's directorial debut and it is simply worth it. Finnish director's modern take on a classic Russian novel. These 2 countries have such a lot of history and this movie makes up for an interesting take on Fyodor Dostoevsky's novel of the same name. The first 30 seconds pretty much set the tone for Aki's brilliance to show, watch it for yourself to believe what am saying.

The basic premise is Rahikainen (protagonist) commits a random murder which is witnessed by a young lady. There is also a "blossoming" love story somewhere and while it's not a massivley awesome film in the league of Godard or any of the greats. Aki defintiely has a unique style about him that is not hard to discover.

The movie depicts Finnish life very nicely and while the movie is filled with good moments it doesn't lead to anything "great". This is where Aki is brilliant, he isn't over board, not world renowned, not the best. But he has a certain aura and stamp in his films which leaves a mark in your mind, and you will remember this movie as well. It works on so many levels - Finnish/Russian connections, rule of what is right, a little bit of nihilistic existential dialogues & the Finnish weather which is there for everyone to see. The acting is good, the protagnoist is particularly stand out (on par with perhaps Leslie Cheung in Days of Being Wild by WKW)

Recommendation level: 4/5. Damn about time a movie got this rating on the blog, NDTV Lumiere still continues to fuck up with the sub titles but whatever the film is a must see.

Leningrad Cowboys Go America by Aki Kaurismaki

Category: Non-English

This is quite probably one of the best films I've seen all week, the main reason why it's such a must see movie is purely because of its simplicity.

Basic premise of the film is a crazy band of Finns want to make it big but because of their unique style of music they seek fame in America! While the movie is a road trip kinda film it goes beyond it, touching upon a few aspects of America is all about, the film scores in all departments, it has Finns, rock 'n' roll, a hairless stalker & more. There's plenty of music in it for all people, the band also undergoes a few changes from its original avatar. The band strives hard but will they finally manage to make it big?

This was definitely one of the films anyone can watch while keeping the deadpan humour in mind.

Recommendation level: 4/5. It's available on NDTV Lumiere which had some blaring mistakes in the sub titles at the start. Look for it at any Crossword/Landmark once again and you shall find it! If you don't too bad.