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Janne Hyytiäinen, Ilkka Koivula, Maria Järvenhelmi, Maria Heiskanen

A lonely night watchman finds love but comes to regret it in this offbeat comedy from Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki. Koistinen (Janne Hyytiainen) works as a security guard at a shopping mall in Hels... read more read more...inki, where he keeps an eye on the place after hours. Koistinen is a quiet nebbish who doesn't have much luck with women, and the closest thing he has to a girlfriend is Aila (Maria Heiskanen), a woman who runs a sausage cart Koistinen frequents after work, though he doesn't realize she carries a torch for him. Koistinen is killing time in a shabby café when he meets Mirja (Maria Jarvenhelmi), a beautiful blonde who appears to be interested in him. Koistinen is immediately smitten and is willing to marry her even before they have their first date, but what he doesn't know is Mirja's interest in him is not sincere -- she's working with Lindholm (Ilkka Koivula), a career criminal who has hired her to get some security codes from Koistinen so they can stage a heist at the mall where he works. However, even after Koiskinen is betrayed by Mirja and becomes the leading suspect in the robbery, he still loves her and can't bring himself to tell the police what he's learned about her. Laitakaupungin Valot (aka Lights In The Dusk) received its world premiere at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Flixster Users

69% liked it

4,284 ratings

Critics

68% liked it

40 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 18 min.

Directed by: Aki Kaurismäki

Release Date: June 13, 2007

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DVD Release Date: October 16, 2007

Stats: 195 reviews

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Koistinen Janne Hyytiäinen as Koistinen "Lights in the Dusk" Maria Järvenhelmi and Ilkka Koivula Janne Hyytiäinen as Koistinen Janne Hyytiäinen and Maria Heiskanen "Lights in the Dusk" Janne Hyytiäinen as Koistinen Janne Hyytiäinen and Maria Järvenhelmi Janne Hyytiäinen as Koistinen Janne Hyytiäinen and Maria Heiskanen Janne Hyytiäinen as Koistinen Janne Hyytiäinen and Maria Heiskanen Maria Järvenhelmi and Janne Hyytiäinen Maria Järvenhelmi and Janne Hyytiäinen Mirja Koistinen Mirja and Koistinen
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Flixster Reviews (195)

  • SirPant
    November 18, 2011
    SirPant
    Regret, loneliness, stubbornness..it's a wonder we all carry on. It's a wonder that Aki Kaurismäki caries on to be honest, as after watching the film I watched an interview with him that was a DVD extra and it sounds like every film he makes now is a real effort and he's totally ... read morelost his passion. Unfortunately it does show somewhat in Lights in the Dusk. Don't get me wrong though, it's a good film and easily one of his best looking films; never has a director made the ordinary look so colourful. This just isn't him at his best and I can only await Le Havre with nervous anticipation.
  • bookmunki
    October 31, 2010
    bookmunki
    An ironic, existential portrait of loneliness. From the start, Koistinen is painfully out of sync with his environment and ostracized by almost every person he encounters. The tight, lingering frame compositions, remarkably open and suggestive, emphasize this discordant, askew ... read morevision. Amidst this bleakness, hope triumphs in the final, life-affirming shot. A positive end to Kaurismaki's Loser Trilogy.
  • RossCollinsUK
    June 10, 2007
    RossCollinsUK
    A night-watchman with a simple, lonely life is framed by mobsters.
  • gator681
    October 15, 2008
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]Written and directed by Aki Kaurismaki in a deadpan style, "Lights in the Dusk" is about lonely Koistinen(Janne Hyytiainen), who has worked as a security guard for the past three years. Despite having neither experience or money, he wants to open his own sec... read moreurity firm. One day, into his life walks blonde Mirja(Maria Jarvenhelmi) and they go out on a date. He falls for her but has no idea of her ulterior motive. Nor does he question the possibility that she is quite frankly out of his league.[/font]
    [font=Century Gothic][/font]
    [font=Century Gothic]Considering "Lights in the Dusk" is centered around a heist, it should come as no surprise that none of the characters see working for a living as anything remotely honorable. Mirja is employed by Lindholm(Ilkka Koivula), a gangster, who looks down his nose at Koistenen while using him to get the security codes for a shopping mall that he regularly patrols. Mirja is torn but fears having to actually work in a regular job too much to stop.[/font]
  • skiproads
    January 15, 2012
    skiproads
    I'm a huge fan of Kaurismaki - if you know his work you will love this film. Great cinematography and of course a great soundtrack.

View All Lights in the Dusk (Laitakaupungin valot) Reviews

Critic Reviews

J. R. Jones
October 16, 2007
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader

Kaurismaki creates some beautiful frames, carefully composing his affectless characters against the rooms' colors, but there's something wrong with your story when people are upstaged by the decor. Full Review

Wesley Morris
September 21, 2007
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe

It's a deceptively satisfying, almost magical achievement, like being stranded in a desert yet never going thirsty. Full Review

Bill Stamets
July 23, 2007
Bill Stamets, Chicago Sun-Times

The director's existential sarcasm is muted here. Full Review

Kevin Crust
July 12, 2007
Kevin Crust, Los Angeles Times

The distance Kaurismki creates belies his deeply humanistic streak. He engages characters in the direst of situations not to see them suffer but to search for hope. Full Review

Andrew O'Hehir
June 14, 2007
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

So stylized and slow-moving (even at a spare 75 minutes) that you may have trouble adapting to its hypnotic rhythms -- but if you can, there are sumptuous visual rewards to be found, plus the faintest... Full Review

Lisa Schwarzbaum
June 13, 2007
Lisa Schwarzbaum, Entertainment Weekly

There's great music, an excellent dog, and that indescribable Kaurismäki tension between misery and a cosmic joke. Full Review

V.A. Musetto
June 13, 2007
V.A. Musetto, New York Post

If you're new to Kaurismaki, the film will make you a fan. If you've seen everything else he's ever done, the comedy will confirm your commitment. Full Review

Stephen Holden
June 13, 2007
Stephen Holden, New York Times

A mood of cosmic desolation seeps like late autumn sunlight filtered through clouds in Aki Kaurismaki's Lights in the Dusk.

Nathan Lee
June 13, 2007
Nathan Lee, Village Voice

Kaurismäki has given us no special reason to revisit his coy, claustrophobic universe. Full Review

September 23, 2006
Globe and Mail

A rare misstep for director Kaurismaki.

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