Jussi Vatanen and Alma Poisti in the movie “Falling Leaves”.
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Alma Poisti agrees to play the lead role Fallen leaves, a Finnish Oscar production before screenplays existed. Local managerial legend Aki Kaurismäki (a man without a past) wanted her in their latest working-class love story in which she plays Ansa, a shy and lonely supermarket stocker who falls in love with Horappa, a construction worker played by Jussi Vatanen.
How were you cast in this film?
I received a call from Aki who wanted to meet me for lunch. We met and my co-star Jussi Vatanen was also there. Aki announced the idea for this movie. We didn’t have a script yet, but we tweeted something about a love story. Then he said he wanted to talk about forests, growing vegetables, and politics. All he said about my character was that she worked at a store and they would fall in love. I got the script a year later. Aki said he wanted to write another movie, and this is what came out. When he read it, he said, “Looks like this is the fourth movie in my working class trilogy.”
What did you think about the script?
It was a very beautiful article. However, Aki is a man of few words. It was the shortest screenplay I’ve ever read. But it was all there. And I realized that there was nothing I needed to bring in, add to, or improve. I had to learn how to read the script because everything was so clear and all the hints about the characters were there. I had to keep it simple.
How would you describe the character Ansa?
She is an independent woman and takes pride in taking care of herself. She is not dependent on society or men because she has no one else to pay for her. She has a shitty job, but her rent is paid, and there’s a sense of solidarity and a kind of camaraderie between her and her co-workers. One clue is the scene where she receives her electricity bill and immediately unplugs it from the wall, and she immediately takes concrete action.
However, she is also a very lonely woman. And her shyness is definitely a problem for her. It takes a lot of courage for her to step out of that bubble and allow her strangers to mess with her life a little bit. And then there’s the important line when she talks about her parents. Her father died of alcohol, her brother also died, and her mother died of grief. It’s a huge risk for her to fall in love with this man who has a drinking problem. Because we might end up repeating the same history as her parents. So she made her tough choice and said, “I don’t drink.” She doesn’t fall into the common trap of codependency. He needs her to sort out her own life before returning to her. That’s pretty extreme. And very strong.
Finland’s Oscar production stars Vatanen and Marti Suosalo.
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What was it like filming?
Well, there were no rehearsals. Aki told us not to rehearse, not together or separately. I’m a real geek. I love to prepare. So this was tough. What I did was watch all his movies to somehow get into his world. Rather than copying what people have done before, he realized that he is already a small link in a long chain of 20 films and can be a partner in the dialogue that takes place between these films. It’s for recognition.
But we came to set and did all the shots in one take, without rehearsing. If I missed a line, I did a second take. I was so scared, but somehow I realized that I only had a moment, how precious that moment was, and how honest I had to be. You have one chance to react, and one chance to do it right. Because as soon as you start repeating it, you have to start pretending and there are little layers that go into the work.
And he still shoots on film.
yes! For us digital kids, experiencing this old-school filmmaking experience was like time travel. All shots were taken in 35mm. After every take, everyone holds their breath and checks the gate. Aki prefers to cut the film before shooting. I don’t want to waste the material, and since it’s actual film, the material itself is very valuable. In the digital world, you can do so many takes and so many different angles that it’s a completely different way of working.
There are several important scenes when acting with dogs. How does that apply to the one-take method?
Her name is Alma, a dog like me. This was a wonderful coincidence. She is a stray dog from Portugal and Aki’s pet dog. It was her film debut. She’s very disciplined, has a great sense of rhythm, and I have a lot of respect for her. She always made these independent choices well. But I always had an extra sausage in my pocket for her, and she made sure I knew she deserved to spend time with me.
What was the most difficult aspect of making this film?
Humor was one thing. The script has a lot of lines and is very interesting. But you have to say them very frankly and in a very serious way. Like when Ansa went to visit Horappa in the hospital and she told her nurse that she didn’t know his last name. When her nurse asked her if she was related, she said, “Yes, I’m his sister.” pause. “…by faith.” That was hard to put together.
Alma and Poisti are writer and director Aki Kaurismäki’s dogs.
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Most of my knowledge about Finnish culture and society comes from watching Aki Kaurismäki’s films. I often wonder how accurate that is. Especially the people in his films barely speak to each other.
Well, it doesn’t come out of nowhere. He creates a fairy-tale Finland, but he perfects this characteristic of ours. We are very shy people, so we enjoy silence. It doesn’t make you uncomfortable if you stay silent together. I don’t think it’s in all cultures, but in Finland it’s quite normal. And he has a very dry understanding of Finnish humor. He paints it quite far, almost to the point of caricature, but it’s there.
Aki may show off her tough side, but she has a very kind heart. He is a true romantic. If you watch his movies, you can clearly see that he cares about his characters. There’s a very deep humanity in his films, a sense of outcast solidarity of people who care for each other even when society doesn’t care for them. This compassion is an antidote to cynicism. This story could have been a very sweet romance and people might ignore it. But there is a lot of salt here along with sugar.
This article first appeared in The Hollywood Reporter’s exclusive December issue.Click here to subscribe.