Cinematographer Aki Kaurismaki - pride of Finland

Someone likes the scale and epic Hollywood blockbusters, but there are always those who prefer them wayward and truthful European films. For fans of the author's cinema each country is associated with the names of its outstanding directors. For example, in Italy - this is Bernardo Bertolucci, in Sweden - Ingmar Bergman, in Spain - Pedro Almodovar, and in Finland - Aki Kaurismaki. The latter is, perhaps, the most outstanding figure in visual and scenic art in his homeland, the only exception is his brother Mika, because Finnish cinema is very poorly developed, and fewer fame and success are achieved.

Biography

Aki Kaurismäki was born in 1957 in the town of Orimattila, which is located in the province of Päijät-Häme. His father, Jorma, worked with finances, and his mother Lena - in the field of tourism. In addition to Aki, the family was born three more children, one of whom, Mika, is also a revered director. Kaurismaki constantly traveled throughout Finland, moving from place to place. This period in the life of a growing cinematographer will be reflected in his work. The family also traveled extensively outside of their native country. The boy ends school in Cancaanpa, having a lot of read books behind him, which from a very early age aroused his zealous interest. In addition to literature, young Kaurismäki falls in love with cinema, choosing this field as a future profession. However, to enter the university in the chosen direction, he never succeeds, as a result of which the young Aki works in all sorts of spheres, without neglecting even the labor of the loader and dishwasher.

The first steps in the world of cinema

Some directors accumulate their experience, knowledge and skills, required for further activity, independently. Due to active life and changing of specialties, as well as passionate passion for cinema, Aki Kaurismaki succeeds in becoming an unconditional master of the production. And work as a journalist helped him when creating his own scripts. When the director turns 24, he opens his own film company with his brother, and in the same year, their common documentary brainchild "Saima phenomenon" is born.

And two years later he was shooting the first feature film "Crime and Punishment", which represents a modern rethinking of Dostoevsky's great work. The director works in parallel and with a short meter, and one of the most famous paintings in this genre was "Rocky 6". But the world's fame and respect for the public pursue him after the publication of the tape "Leningrad cowboys go to America", telling about the cult rock band.

Trilogy about losers

Some directors prefer to combine their paintings with one theme, making them a kind of cycle. Such a technique is used by Alexander Sokurov, Lars von Trier and Aki Kaurismaki. Films of the Finnish creator number two trilogies, the first of which tells about losers. Tapes from this series came out every couple of years, beginning in 1986. And in the intervals the director continued to shoot his cult paintings. The first film of the trilogy is "Shadows in Paradise", the action of which unfolds in Helsinki, as in all subsequent ones. There for the first time appears favorite actress maestro Kati Oatinen, who appeared in most of his creations. The next picture of the cycle is "Ariel". Aki Kaurismaki as usual acted as a director, scriptwriter and producer. And the Troika closes in 1990 with "The Girl from the Match Factory", where Outinen appears again. It was these films that paved their author the way to respect in all of Europe.

Subsequent work

The next picture of Aki Kaurismaki "The Life of Bohemia" takes the spectators from their native city for the director of Helsinki in Paris. It is again received with great warmth by the foreign public and receives the next awards, which by that time had already accumulated a decent amount. A couple of short films later Aki shoots a sequel about the adventures of the Siberian group called "Leningrad cowboys meet Moses." Such a stunning success as the first part, it had no effect, but fans of the Finnish genius were happy to meet again with their favorite characters. Kaurismaki's enthusiasm for music, especially for "cowboys," is reflected in yet another documentary - The 1994 Balalaika Show.

New trilogy

The next trilogy of Aki begins with the picture "The clouds are sailing away". This time, a series of films are published over a period of ten years, and the subject of the proletariat is again touched upon in them. In the first and second, entitled "A Man Without a Past," Aki Kaurismäki takes on the same role as Outinen, who, like the previous time, appears in only two scenes of the cycle.

In 2003, the director was awarded the Oscar nomination for an interim film of the trilogy, which is a great achievement for the whole of Finland. And they finish the series "Lights of the city outskirts" in 2006, after which the director within five years removes only two short films, one of which is included in the collection of short stories "Everyone has his own movie". And in 2011, he again takes up active work and releases the tape "Le Havre", which aroused great interest among those waiting in anticipation of fans and critics. At the moment this is the last project of the director, not counting the joint with the colleagues of the "Historical Center" in 2012. The next film is expected on the screens only by 2017, and its details are still kept secret.

Awards

For his long creative career, Aki Kaurismaki received countless awards, becoming the most prestigious Finnish director ever to have lived. His first nomination was at the Moscow International Film Festival for the film "Ariel", and she managed to get the FIPRESCI prize. In 1990, the furor at the Berlin Film Festival was produced by the band "The Girl from the Match Factory", and in 1992, everyone was struck by the "Life of Bohemia". Since 1996, the director's films began to win at the Cannes Film Festival. In total there are three of them at Kaurismaki: behind the "The distance float clouds", for the tape "Man without the past" and the film "Le Havre." The success on the film awards is also enjoyed by the actors who were filming with the Finnish maestro, and he himself is the most titled cinematographer of his state, which does not cease to inspire his young fellow citizens to create films.