Varjoja Paratiisissa (Shadows in Paradise) poster & wallpaper
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Matti Pellonpää, Kati Outinen, Esko Nikkari, Jukka-Pekka Palo, Mari Rantasila ... see more see more... , Pekka Laiho , Sakari Kuosmanen , Svante Korkiakoski , Aki Kaurismäki , Kylli Köngäs

In this romantic comedy, Nikander (Matti Pellonpaa) is a lonely garbage-truck driver who meets the homely check-out clerk Ilona (Kati Outinen). Their painful shyness makes for slow romantic progress, ... read more read more...until Ilona loses her job, and the two rendezvous in a cozy country motel. Nikander proposes after returning items stolen by Ilona in retaliation for her being fired. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

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88% liked it

445 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 16 min.

Directed by: Aki Kaurismäki

Release Date: October 17, 1986

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DVD Release Date: September 23, 2008

Stats: 55 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (55)

  • bookmunki
    April 8, 2011
    bookmunki
    Signature Kaurismaki! Beautiful composition and deadpan humor, this is not your typical rom com. If you have a penchant for stoicism and cigarettes, this film is an askew vision of Helsinki's outskirts. This debut bodes well for the remainder of the 'Proletariat Trilogy.'
  • SirPant
    December 8, 2009
    SirPant
    The first film in Aki Kaurismäki's 'Underdog' trilogy is a brilliant example of how bounteous minimalist cinema can be. The story is simple, funny and touching without ever being over the top. This is cinema in its purest form, no nonsense, just a joy to watch. I'm absolutely gut... read moreted to find out that my new favourite actor died 14 years ago! :o(
  • gator681
    August 19, 2009
    gator681
    In "Shadows in Paradise," Nikander(Matti Pellonpaa), a garbageman who is learning English in his spare time, is approached by a co-worker(Esko Nikkari), to join the waste retrieval business he is planning on setting up. Despite having grave misgivings, Nikander agrees but soon a... read morefter, his new business partner drops dead on the job. Distraught, Nikander goes on a bender and wakes up in the drunk tank, meeting Melartin(Sakari Kuosmanen) who gets a job with Nikander's help. Meanwhile, he also makes the acquaintance of Ilona(Kati Outinen) whose summary firing from her job at a supermarket causes her to steal cash from her former employer.

    Nobody ever meets cute in an Aki Kaurismaki movie and "Shadows in Paradise" is no exception. As usual, he does not dwell on the more fantastic tropes of romance, instead settling for the more mundane which suits his characters well. These characters live and work in a reality where jobs can be a precarious thing and what ones there are can be hard and thankless work like garbagemen. So, it is important to not look down on people just because of their jobs since what they do is just as important as anybody else's.
  • naoyakugimiya1
    November 24, 2011
    naoyakugimiya1
    Truly admirable film. Probably shorter than even the half of the running time of Avatar, but contents are million times bigger. Ideal form of cinema entertainment for me. Simple, clear, humorous, full of lessons about life (in a good way), cheerful, and you can see the world in a... read more slightly different way after watching it.

View All Varjoja Paratiisissa (Shadows in Paradise) Reviews

Critic Reviews

Anton Bitel
October 22, 2007
Anton Bitel, Eye for Film

Gives the stale conventions of the rom com the dark flipside they need, while downsizing that genre's normally bourgeois sensibilities into a class all its own. Full Review

Ted Shen
October 27, 2007
Ted Shen, Chicago Reader

Click to read the article Full Review

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