Lights In The Dusk (2007)

There is an admirable rigor here and even a brief touch of sunshine, but almost none of the humor that marks [Kaurismaki's] best work.

So dry it's parched, this study of a passive loser whose life just keeps getting worse is basically a series of noir cliches clothed in arthouse anomie.

The downbeat tone of Lights in the Dusk just escapes offense and self-parody due to Kaurismäki’s careful, subtle craftsmanship.

As a dry comedy or a social allegory, Lights in the Dusk is anemic.

Lights In The Dusk plays out in the expected Kaurismäki style, with flavorful musical interludes, great affection for the city's outcasts, and lots of bleakness chased by the faintest sliver of hope.

Stripped of much of the director's trademark deadpan humor and saddled with such an extremely passive protagonist, getting through the drama becomes an exercise in patience.

Another in a series of Kaurismaki's deeply touching portraits of ordinary people, full of gentle and mournfully poetic subtle narrative rhythms.