Shadows in Paradise

Shadows in Paradise (Varjoja paratiisissa, 1986) is Aki Kaurismäki's drama, available to watch online on iFILM. Nikander, a Helsinki garbage man, dreams of starting his own hauling business — until his partner drops dead and leaves him with nothing but a route and a truck.

In a supermarket one evening he meets Ilona, a cashier with bad luck of her own. Both are tongue-tied, both are used to losing, and they edge toward each other at an agonizing pace — an awkward movie date, a dinner, a falling-out over almost nothing. Matti Pellonpää and Kati Outinen play the pair so sparingly that a single raised eyebrow says more than a monologue. This is the opening chapter of Kaurismäki's "Proletariat Trilogy" about working-class people on the city's edge who want a little warmth too.

Seventy-four minutes, not a wasted scene, those signature washed-out interiors and a deadpan Finnish humor that lands as funny and sad at once. If you've never tried the director, it's a short, exact way in. Stream Shadows in Paradise (1986) online on iFILM.