Finland's Kaurismaki back in Cannes competition after over a decade

Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki is back in competition for the Cannes Film Festival's top prize after more than a decade with his 20th film, "Fallen Leaves," which premiered on Monday. Under a sweltering afternoon sun, Kaurismaki, 66, was joined on the red carpet by his lead actors Alma Poysti and Jussi Vatanen.

Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki is back in competition for the Cannes Film Festival's top prize after more than a decade with his 20th film, "Fallen Leaves," which premiered on Monday. Under a sweltering afternoon sun, Kaurismaki, 66, was joined on the red carpet by his lead actors Alma Poysti and Jussi Vatanen. Festival workers had to persuade Kaurismaki to pose for photographers as he attempted to power through the red carpet.

"Fallen Leaves" is a follow-up to Kaurismaki's Proletariat Trilogy, coming more than three decades after the 1986 film "Shadows in Paradise", 1988's "Ariel" and "The Match Factory Girl", which was released in 1990. Written and directed by Kaurismaki, "Fallen Leaves" is his first feature in six years. The tragicomedy follows the budding romance between a quiet young woman, Ansa (Poysti) and Vatanen's heavy-drinking sandblaster, whose first name is never revealed.

As they navigate blue-collar jobs and zero-hour contracts, a chance meeting in a karaoke bar brings the two lonely characters together, only to be pulled apart again. Set to the soundtrack of news reports about the latest developments in the war in Ukraine and Finnish versions of yesteryear hits such as "Mambo Italiano", the film follows the twosome's efforts to forge a better life for themselves.

It features Kaurismaki's trademark deadpan dialogue and references to his cinematic influences. "Fallen Leaves" is Kaurismaki's fifth competition title at Cannes. His last Palme d'Or contender was "Le Havre" in 2011.

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