Lights in the Dusk

In Finnish filmmaker Aki Kaurismäki's Lights in the Dusk, Helsinki looks like the dreariest place on Earth, a perfect home for sad sack Koistinen (Janne Hyytiäinen), who is a night watchman for a private security company. Humiliated by coworkers for not having a girlfriend, Koistinen's burdensome lot actually goes from bad to worse when a sleek mobster (Ilkka Koivula) sends his main squeeze Mirja (Maria Järvenhelmi) to woo Koistinen in order to gain access to a jewelry store on Koistinen's rounds. The villain not only counts on Koistinen's gullibility but also his tight-lipped loyalty to Mirja—even after he learns the truth. The third entry in Kaurismäki's "Loser Trilogy" (along with 1996's Drifting Clouds and 2002's The Man Without a Past), Lights in the Dusk is more black comedy than film noir. While Koistinen might be the victim of a fatalistic universe, however, it's hard to feel sorry for him when he escorts Mirja to a dance but won't actually dance with her, or takes the rap for a crime he didn't commit. Kaurismäki's film ultimately presents a character moving—albeit glacially—one step toward a fuller humanity, but Koistinen's small progress is something less than an insightful epiphany. Optional. (T. Keogh)