Movie Reviews
Fallen Leaves review: A compassionate depiction of the proletarian life
Filmmakers being in conversation with each other’s works is natural, desirable and often, a lot of fun to watch. However, like any other literary/artistic device it runs the risk of rampant, commercialized overuse. In today’s franchise-led era it is used more often than not in service of a facile sense of continuity, of a ‘shared universe’ no matter what the artistic costs may be.
Luckily, in skilled hands, filmmakers having a sense of history still pays off handsomely — and no amount of mega-corporation productions can change that about the medium. I was reminded of this powerfully during a beautiful night-at-the-movies sequence in Finnish director Aki Kaurismaki’s latest, Fallen Leaves, now streaming in India on Mubi (and on Mubi’s channel on Amazon Prime Video). A deceptively straightforward romantic comedy involving star-crossed lovers, this is Kaurismaki’s 20th full-length feature, which won the Jury Prize last year at Cannes.
Lives under capitalism as zombie-existence
In the aforementioned movie-going sequence, our two protagonists — an alcoholic, melancholy man named Holappa (Jussi Vatanen) and an overworked, conscientious woman named Ansa (Alma Pöysti) — are at the movies. Until now we have only seen these two people suffering the ravages of contemporary capitalism.
He works a series of punishing, dead-end construction gigs while she works at a corrupt supermarket that routinely sells expired food to its customers. Finally, the two of them are given a moment of peace and levity at the movies — will they hit it off or will their baggage come in the way? (This is pretty much the entire plot of the film; Kaurismaki’s films defy conventional screenwriting expectations).
They watch The Dead Don’t Die, the 2019 absurdist zombie invasion comedy (starring Bill Murray and Adam Driver), directed by Kaurismaki’s old friend and artistic brother-in-arms, Jim Jarmusch. At the end of the film, Ansa says that she hasn’t laughed this much in ages. It’s a typically bittersweet moment from Kaurismaki, whose movies are full of mild-mannered stoics who tend to be better at endurance than they are at embracing hard-fought slivers of happiness.
Ansa’s encounter with vibrant, life-affirming colour comes in the second half, when she is wearing a lively turquoise overcoat while meeting Chaplin, a friendly, yellow-coloured dog she adopts — this is, significantly, one of the first moments we see Ansa smiling and relaxed.
The fact that she found the gory zombie invasion hilarious is part of the point — Kaurismaki and Jarmusch share a certain bleak flair for introducing absurdism into everyday situations. But what’s even more remarkable is the subtext and how well it blends in with the world these two people live in. Ansa and Holappa look at their own lives under modern-day capitalism as a kind of zombie-existence. This is signaled loud and clear throughout the film’s 80-minute runtime in a variety of ways.
Kaurismaki’s minimalist visual vocabulary
In an early scene, we see Holappa reluctantly getting ready for a night out in town — he checks out his own surly face in a shattered mirror, his reflection looking like something out of a Cubist portrait. In a later scene, Holappa is drunk and passed out on a bench at a bus stop, where a group of teenagers is rifling through his pockets, disappointed at the meagre results. Ansa quietly checks Holappa’s pulse, seats him upright on the bench so he doesn’t choke on his own vomit and then quietly leaves on the next bus.
This visual is one of the best and most poignant moments in the film — a barely-lit Ansa unsure whether to leave, looking at Holappa as the bus starts, inevitably, to move away from the scene-of-the-crime. This is the modern-day equivalent of a frequently-seen moment from films set in previous centuries; the farewell scene at the docks when one or more characters set sail for a foreign land.
In this case, of course, Ansa is going back home, which for her is every bit as ‘alien’ and unsettling, not least because she’s unsure of Holappa’s fate or indeed, whether they will meet again (by this point in the film, the two do not know each other’s names and have no way of contacting each other).
Kaurismaki’s visual style is spare and minimalist to the point of occasional stodginess when he’s not on his A-game. No such concerns for Fallen Leaves, however. This is his best film since his mid-career purple patch in the late 80s and early 90s, when he made such idiosyncratic masterpieces like Ariel (1988), Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989) and La Vie de bohème (1992). A close reading of Fallen Leaves reveals it to be a kind of culmination of several of Kaurismaki’s pet themes from this phase in his career.
The colour of hope
The most prominent among these themes and motifs, of course, is Kaurismaki’s clear-eyed, compassionate depiction of the life of proletarian characters, in films like Shadows in Paradise (1986) and The Match Factory Girl (1990). The latter, in particular, is a kind of spiritual predecessor, almost, to Fallen Leaves. Its protagonist Iris (Kati Outinen, one of the director’s frequent collaborators) is very much in the same mould as Ansa.
Both of them are quiet, unobtrusive young women working punishing jobs in a ‘post-industrial’ landscape. Both of them have rich inner lives that they keep well-hidden from the rest of the world. Besides, Iris and Ansa both share one very important feature that the two films take pains to highlight prominently — their relationship with loud, vibrant colours that stand in sharp contrast to their otherwise drab lives dominated by shades of grey.
Fifteen minutes into The Match Factory Girl, we see Iris wearing a bright pink dress that she clearly likes. Her mother reacts with inordinate anger, telling her that she looks like a prostitute but Iris refuses to listen and goes to a nightclub wearing the dress, a signal that she will live life on her own terms.
In Fallen Leaves, Ansa’s encounter with vibrant, life-affirming colour comes in the second half, when she is wearing a similarly lively turquoise overcoat while meeting Chaplin, a friendly, yellow-coloured dog she adopts — this is, significantly, one of the first moments we see Ansa smiling and relaxed. Colour bestowed upon these grayscale lives is Kaurismaki’s way of giving these characters hope.
For Kaurismaki fans, Fallen Leaves is the logical endpoint of some key storytelling strands from his career. And for newcomers it is the perfect introduction to the pleasures of this unique artist.
Vague Visages’ Undertone review contains minor spoilers. Ian Tuason’s 2025 movie features Nina Kiri, Adam DiMarco and Michèle Duquet. Check out the VV home page for more film criticism, movie reviews and film essays.
Sound design is paramount in horror. Without it, things that go bump in the night simply won’t. Creative sound design can make a great movie truly legendary. Consider Blair Witch (2016), whose unique and expertly constructed soundscapes took it from a throwaway requel to a nightmare-inducing must-watch. Undertone, the feature debut from Canadian writer-director Ian Tuason, is being marketed as “the scariest movie you’ll ever hear,” which is a gamble considering genre cinema is built on terrifying imagery. Although that pull-quote might put off snooty hardcore fans, it genuinely might be true.
Undertone’s action is confined to a single location — the dated childhood home in which Evy (Nina Kiri, phenomenal) watches her elderly mother (Michèle Duquet as Mama) slowly fade away in real time. While trying to keep the dying woman alive, the protagonist records a creepypasta-themed podcast with Justin (Adam DiMarco), who lives across the pond in London. Because of the time difference, the duo typically records at 3 a.m. aka “the witching hour.” Given their subject matter, it’s unsurprising that Justin, whom Evy snarks is a “Santa Claus believer,” frequently gets creeped out. His co-host, a proud skeptic, is much harder to shake.
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As a result, Undertone never feels hokey or derivative. By focusing almost entirely on Evy, Tuason takes a massive risk. Indeed, for most of the movie, she’s the only character onscreen, with Mama, as she’s billed, unresponsive upstairs in bed. The first-time filmmaker consistently draws eyes to the dark, empty spaces behind Evy — particularly an empty doorway that feels like it’s encroaching upon her — as she records with Justin, the camera creeping around corners or simply hanging around back there, as though somebody is always watching. And yet, nothing happens when one expects it to, which only adds to the unnerving atmosphere and increasingly excruciating tension. Shots are frequently tilted at bizarre angles, which adds to the impression that everything is slightly off kilter.
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Tuason infuses Undertone with Catholic guilt, right down to a bottle of Irish whiskey that Evy — a possible alcoholic — pulls out of a liquor cabinet in a moment of desperation. The filmmaker’s suffocating feature debut adeptly tackles thorny themes of postpartum depression and guilt, and all while stoking a constricting feeling of loneliness for the protagonist. The atmosphere starts off chilly, and by Undertone’s closing moments, it’s downright ice-cold. The movie cleverly emulates the effect of wearing noise-cancelling headphones each time Evy puts hers on, which forces the audience to focus solely on what she hears. The soundscapes are truly exceptional: layered, considered and beautifully composed to capture every little crackle and hum, while repetitive recordings — seemingly full of hidden meanings — similarly encourage viewers to pay closer attention, which makes Undertone’s darkest moments hit even harder.
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The great tragedy of Undertone is that poor Evy unwittingly invites something even worse into her mother’s home, which already feels haunted thanks to the almost-dead woman upstairs, as well as the wealth of troubled childhood memories seeping out of its walls. There’s a wonderful piquancy to the movie — Tuason takes his time ratcheting up the tension, but Undertone doesn’t let up once it gets going. Moments of respite are few and far between, with Evy’s growing isolation becoming increasingly obvious to the audience, if not to her. It’s tough to capture the idea of feeling unsafe in your own home, but Undertone manages to achieve this without any obvious jump scares or visual shocks. It’s all about sound, including during the movie’s stomach-churning final moments, which play out against a black screen, further solidifying the power of sound.
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Joey Keogh (@JoeyLDG) is a writer from Dublin, Ireland with an unhealthy appetite for horror movies and Judge Judy. In stark contrast with every other Irish person ever, she’s straight edge. Hello to Jason Isaacs. Thank you for reading film criticism, movie reviews and film reviews at Vague Visages.
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Categories: 2020s, 2026 Film Reviews, 2026 Horror Reviews, Featured, Film, Folk Horror, Horror, Movies, Psychological Horror, Science Fiction, Supernatural Horror, Thriller
That all changes when Justin receives a mysterious email containing 10 audio clips of an expectant young couple going through some kind of demonic possession. Evy instantly dismisses it as a hoax, even as spooky things also start happening to her. But, as they listen to each one, it gradually becomes impossible to deny that something very strange is going on. Fortunately, the experience of listening to these 10 little snippets of a life being shared by two people who, like Justin, never appear onscreen, isn’t a slog. Demonic possession is a total cliché at this point, but Tuason puts a nasty twist on it by focusing on a particularly horrible ghoul who targets pregnant people and new mothers, with the intention of killing them and their babies (trigger warning for any parents planning to watch).
Likewise, Graham Beasley’s evocative cinematography utilizes a moody color palette comprised predominantly of greys and navy blues. Evy leaves the house just once, and the camera doesn’t go with her, so it’s hard to identify the season, but Undertone certainly feels like a wintry film. It helps that Mama’s house isn’t the most welcoming environment, as religious iconography fills every available spot, including a cross hanging on the dying character’s bedroom door and a variety of different statues that loom ominously behind the podcaster as she records. Evy repeatedly listens to an old voicemail from her mother, in which Mama intones “I’m praying for you.” At first, it seems like a sweet sentiment, but as the story progresses, the idea curdles into something closer to a threat.
Undertone is a slow burn, and there will be those who complain that nothing happens, but the scares are interlaced throughout the narrative, increasing in frequency and intensity as it goes on. Unlike Skinamarink (2022), which has little to offer hardcore horror fans, Tuason’s movie builds the tension deliberately, with an acute attention to detail that pays off the closer one looks and listens. The resonant sound design echoes Kiri’s skilled performance in the lead role, as she acts predominantly by herself, often wordlessly communicating Evy’s disbelief, fear and confusion as the character grapples with her horrifying predicament alongside handling her mother’s rapidly deteriorating condition (and a surprise pregnancy to boot). Tuason keeps the camera tight on her face, emphasizing the presumed safety of Evy’s headphones as she disappears into the world of the titular podcast, which usually gives the struggling young woman a break from her normal life.
Podcasters typically don’t fare well in horror movies, with the most infamous example being those hideous Brits in Halloween (2018) who get exactly what they deserve. However, Evy is an empathetic yet flawed character — kind of a mess doing her best. It’s notable that being a skeptic doesn’t necessarily protect her from evil forces, but Tuason also doesn’t punish his protagonist for refusing to believe. Instead, he leaves it up to the audience to decide whether Evy, and to a lesser extent Justin, is being targeted or just unlucky. Tuason’s feature directorial debut proves once and for all that less really is more when it comes to crafting scares that resonate far beyond the frame (listening to a podcast immediately after a watch is a disconcerting experience). Undertone is inspired, unnerving and truly a future classic.
Related
Wasteman, 2025.
Directed by Cal McMau.
Starring David Jonsson, Tom Blyth, Alex Hassell, Neil Linpow, Paul Hilton, Corin Silva, Layton Blake, Jack Barker, Fred Muthui, Lunga Skosana, Robert Rhodes, Keaton Ancona-Francis, and Cole Martin.
SYNOPSIS:
Follows parolee Taylor whose fresh start hopes are jeopardized by cellmate Dee’s arrival. As Dee takes Taylor under his wing, a vicious attack tests their bond, forcing Taylor to choose between protecting Dee and his own parole chances.
Backing up its intentions and messaging with real spliced-in cell phone footage of rowdy, uncontrollable prison behavior in an understaffed British penitentiary, director Cal McMau’s narrative debut feature Wasteman (from a screenplay by Eoin Doran and Hunter Andrews) is often purposely, effectively disorienting. That’s not merely limited to be incorporated leaked footage (this is a prison that, in some respects, is more of a recreational facility than one for rehabilitation, since the guards are in such low quantity, all while the incarcerated are rather easily smuggling drugs through drone technology while typically unbothered in their jail cells playing video games in between hard partying or fighting one another), but the brutality as well, with claustrophobic, tilted camera angles and a shakiness that lends a visceral grime to that physicality.
The exception to this disorder seems to be rising star David Jonsson’s Taylor, still using drugs but also consistently avoiding any such drama. He is quiet and timid to the point where he not only comes across empathetic, but one wonders how he became locked up alongside an otherwise degenerate bunch. It turns out that due to a new law going into effect, some prisoners will be released on good behavior, which, in Taylor’s case, means that he is far from a problem here despite abusing drugs. Nevertheless, he is nervously excited about the possibility of reconnecting with his teenage son, even if a phone call with his separated ex-partner makes it clear that she is firmly against such a reunion.
There also wouldn’t be a film here without a wrench being thrown into that impending release back into society, which is where the introduction of new cellmate Dee (a manipulative and psychotic Tom Blyth) enters as an inmate more concerned with taking over the in-house drug dealing hierarchy rather than fronting anything remotely close to good behavior. By extension, this jeopardizes Taylor’s chances of being released. That’s also not to say Dee doesn’t have his friendly moments, such as letting Taylor use his phone to reconnect with his son on social media.
Where Wasteman makes up for in familiar plotting is its sense of authenticity, which comes through not only in the previously mentioned cuts to rowdy cell phone footage but also in the decision to work with a charity and round out the rest of the ensemble with formerly incarcerated individuals who are now reformed. One gets a full sense of the microcosmic incarceration society, the pecking order, and just how low on the rung Taylor is, since he isn’t like most of the others. There is also a full-blown riot at one point that parallels and mirrors the clips of authentic footage. It’s scripted, somehow almost feeling as dangerous.
When Wasteman inevitably comes down to a bond tested between Taylor and Dee, that too is less about thrills and more to do with capturing rawness; part of a brawl here contains one character vomiting on another, driving home just how dirty, literally and figuratively, the film gets in its unflinching depictions of life on the inside for this particular penitentiary. It’s fiction with a dash of documentary, each with bracing importance. It’s enough to ensure the film doesn’t go to waste for its minor shortcomings.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Robert Kojder
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=embed/playlist
Ryan Gosling in Sony Pictures’ ‘Project Hail Mary’
Now in Theaters
“Project Hail Mary”
(Amazon – MGM Pictures)
Rated PG-13
“I put the ‘Not’ in ‘astronaut!’
When was the last time you walked out of movie theater feeling not only better about humanity but also our future?
Based on the revered 2021 Andy Weir novel of the same name, and adapted for the screen by Drew Goddard (“Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” “Daredevil” and “The Martian”), “Project Hail Mary” is an ingeniously crafted and perfectly paced sci-fi drama about a biologist and school teacher who wakes up from a coma aboard a spacecraft that’s on a mission to save all life on Earth. As both the star and co-producer, it took Ryan Gosling seven years to bring this vastly entertaining instant classic to the big screen, and it was so worth the wait.
Admittedly, I wasn’t thrilled with the trailers or even the tone that seemed to give ABC afterschool-special vibes. But after seeing it in its entirety, everything about it blew me away.
Who Are We?
Bursting with fascinating and enthralling moral quandaries, it makes viewers question themselves and our species. And refreshingly, “Project Hail Mary” is a magnificent “grand idea” kind of story that seamlessly weaves themes of self-preservation, obligation, the intrinsic meaning of humanity and most powerfully (and surprisingly) friendship. You will come away with fresh personal revelations and deep, self-examinations that you probably never intended to ponder, which is the beauty of epic sci-fi tales like this. They force us to muse about the kinds of societies we want to live in.
And with the wondrous inclusion of Gosling’s all too real co-star Rocky, I became so emotionally gripped, that I was close to tears a few times. I just love it when a film not only challenges but surpasses whatever preconceived notions you may have held about it beforehand.
Intensely moving, meticulously thoughtful, endlessly nuanced and massively entertaining, it’s easy to see why “Project Hail Mary” is already considered one of the best films of the year.
-@TheAndreKelley
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ONLY IN THEATERS
“You, Me & Tuscany”
(Will Packer Productions)
Rated PG-13
“You pretended to be the White Italian man’s fiancé?
But ended up catching feelings for the Black Italian cousin-brother?”
As expected, “You, Me & Tuscany” is really, really cute. Halle Bailey (“The Little Mermaid,” “Grown-ish”) and Rege-Jean Page (“Black Bag,” “Bridgerton”) are initially combative, though there’s little doubt as to where the two are headed in this charming and delightfully executed story. Writer-producer Will Packer (“Think Like A Man,” “Girls Trip”) outdid himself in this colorful, feel-good, family-friendly, classic comedy of errors.
Glorious Tuscan Countryside
And while making excellent use of the lush and intoxicating Tuscan countryside, what I found curiously effective was that the dynamic of the ensemble became as big a part of the film as the romance itself. Surprisingly, I was completely caught off-guard as those familial aspects developed. And though Rege-Jean Page is not my cup of tea (too skinny, too pretty) as a lead, I now see why women react to him the way they do. He’s a very good dramatic actor, he holds attention quite easily on the big screen and of course, that face-card would never be declined.
Also, with Black women now becoming the most educated, economically-empowered and increasingly, well-traveled demographic of society, Packer smartly captures that zeitgeist with this well-produced and topically focused vacation vehicle.
Notably, his critically-acclaimed and commercially successful “Girls Trip” was domestically based whereas Tuscany makes faithful and fantastic use of the kinds of village locales and gorgeous countrysides we’d all like to visit. So what better way to explore and find parts of ourselves while also falling in love than abroad?
A Welcome Genre Update
And finally, be it his television shows or movies, I sincerely love Will Packer’s upscale treatment and desperately needed update of the romantic-comedy genre. Typically, the majority are White and situation-based, whereas this one was Black-centered and in an international setting. So, those aspects alone I genuinely enjoyed.
I’m a sucker for thoughtful production with Black folks looking great, being well-lit and shot properly. We don’t often get passport-driven international fare with a wonderful balance of warmth, humor and heart like this, so don’t wait to stream it. “You, Me & Tuscany” is well worth the trip.
@YOUMETUSCANY
#YOUMETUSCANY
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NOW IN THEATERS
“Hoppers”
(Pixar) Rated PG
“Let’s squish the humans!”
Impressively, within mere minutes of its opening we get a solidly hilarious understanding of Mabel Tanaka’s deeply feisty affinity for animals, and her incessant, almost uncontrollable desire to help them.
Voiced delightfully by Piper Curda (Disney Channel’s “A.N.T. Farm”) as the willful and resourceful protagonist, she makes quick use of new technology that allows her to infiltrate and talk to the animal kingdom.
John Hamm (“Bridesmaids,” “Mad Men”) is fantastic as her arch nemesis, the town’s preening and vainglorious, Gavin Newsom-esque Mayor Jerry, who’s behind the ominous threat to the very habitat that Mabel and her friends are fighting to defend.
State-of-the-art Animation
And true to the magnificent legacy of Pixar’s usual flawless execution (“Hoppers” is their 30th film) the state-of-the-art animation is absolutely gorgeous and intriguing to look at. Much of it, especially with regard to the larger animals, is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. You almost want to reach out and touch them. The hair and body textures are next-level fascinating and so lifelike, it’s as if you’re watching plush animals come to life in this brilliantly spooled sci-fi comedy.
And don’t get it twisted nor let the animation aspects of talking animals fool you. There are some very clear (as well as oblique) nods to our current reality that make this more than what it appears on the surface. Ingeniously, it imparts universal themes of cooperation, community and inclusion, as well as a plethora of life-lessons we want all young people exposed to.
Stay for the Credits
Unfortunately, there’s no usual Pixar short at the beginning of the movie and like any Marvel film, I strongly urge you to stay for the end credits. Witty, warm and a bit whimsical, “Hoppers” is brimming with hilarious and heartfelt laughs and lessons.
And with everything that’s currently happening in our world, there’s never been a better time to enjoy what’s going on in someone else’s.
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