And if one thing is to be written in stone - it is that Scandinavia can match the gloom of any cinematic tradition, a point Ingmar Bergman tends to make impossibly refutable. There are currently two key figures that have kept this legacy alive and kicking; the daringly divisive Danish director Lars von Trier (b.1956) and deadpan Finnish helmer Aki Kaurismaki (b.1957). Von Trier would begin his career with two astonishing anemically-budgeted monochrome numbers, in 1984, with The Element of Crime and in 1991; Europa. Both these films would warrant international attention but ultimately their respective intensity made if difficult for audiences to embrace the illusions and as the blessing and curse goes - box office success would not follow the footsteps of critical acclaim.
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| Kaurismaki's The Man Without A Past (2002) |
Aki Kaurismaki for all his glory and gravitas, unfortunately has never been one to be taken too seriously with many of his films on the fringe of social realism, comedy and policier. He often draws influence from noir style and conceits, from the London-set I Hired A Contract Killer (1990) to the Finnish trilogy including The Man Without A Past (2002). In his films he rendered an atmosphere of exhausted ennui which contributed the bass notes to their exquisite cinematographic counterparts, and often times rousing soundtrack. An acquired taste is the official foolproof way to appreciate the catalog of Aki Kaurismaki and once obtained, the love affair is all but guaranteed to flourish.
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| Don't leave me hanging on telephone - Emily Watson stuns in von Trier's Breaking The Waves (1996) |