Cannes. Laitakaupungin Valot.

"Lights in the Dusk, though leavened with [Aki] Kaurismäki's usual deadpan humor, treads closer to miserabilism than his other recent films, with a sad sack protagonist who's used and abused so relentlessly that he might as well be in a Fassbinder flick," writes Mike D'Angelo at Nerve. "At a mere 80 minutes, the film doesn't wear out its welcome, but those waiting patiently for some culminating act of self-determination will do so in vain."

Updated through 5/28.

Cineuropa's Fabien Lemercier: "The terseness and cold humour of the dialogue ('How was prison?' 'We couldn't get out'), the physical and moral repulsiveness of men, all washed down with various kinds of alcohol, prove that the filmmaker is at great ease in his environment. Where he fails, however – despite the recurrent tangos – is in arousing compassion for his Chaplinesque victim."

The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt is also underwhelmed: "[W]here Man Without a Past had deep reservoirs of feeling and an uncanny sense of humor, Lights just lays there, an object of puzzlement."

Time Out's Dave Calhoun finds it "somehow less rewarding than Drifting Clouds or Man Without A Past, the earlier two films in this loose trilogy, largely because Koistinen [a Helsinki security guard played by Janne Hyytiäinen] is such a passive, faceless character that it's hard to consider him at all."

Update, 5/23: It's "an amiable but very undercooked noirish fable," decides Variety's Leslie Felperin.

Updates, 5/24: "[B]usiness as usual, more or less," writes Jonathan Romney for Screen Daily. "Kaurismäki regulars will be pleased to find, among other attractions, a soundtrack mixing tangos and garage rock; the mandatory canine cameo, this time by a dog named Paju; and even a brief appearance by the director's muse Kati Outinen. But although his films often mature with repeated viewing, the immediate impression is that Lights is not quite vintage Kaurismäki."

Cinematical's James Rocchi: "Many people will find [security guard] Koistinen's passivity infuriating - even after he knows what's coming, he never moves to dodge it - but that's part of the film's charm. Like all the great silent comedians - Keaton, Chaplin, Lloyd - Hyyiäten knows that now and then, you have to take the pie in the face (whether literal or metaphorical) to get the moment perfect."

George the Cyclist: "[Kaurismäki] remains the master of the droll."

Update, 5/26: In the Independent, Sheila Johnston calls Lights "a gloomy minimalist melodrama with too-brief flashes of Kaurismäki's signature black humor."

Update, 5/28: For Jonathan Romney, writing in the Independent, it's "something less than business as usual... Maybe it's time for the hard-living maestro to change his brand of vodka."

Posted by dwhudson at May 22, 2006 8:11 AM