Festival Favorite Romance “Fallen Leaves” Gets Offbeat Trailer

After winning the Jury Prize at this year's Cannes Film Festival, Fallen Leaves will take a victory lap at all the major North American festivals this fall. Aki Kaurismäki's quirky romance will make stops at Telluride, Toronto and New York before its limited release in November.

Kaurismäki – arguably Finland's best known filmmaker – has had an acclaimed 40-year career, mostly delivering his unique blend of deadpan comedy and critique of Finnish society. Though not as famous in the U.S. (at least not to folks who don't have a Criterion Channel subscription), he's one of only two directors to win the FIPRESCI Grand Prix three times. (The other is Paul Thomas Anderson.)

The teaser below features only one line of dialogue – spoken to a dog no less – and a melancholic piano ballad. While it tells little of the story, it gives you all you'll need to know based on vibes alone.

Mubi will release Fallen Leaves in a handful of U.S. theaters on November 17.

About Kip Mooney

Like many film critics born during and after the 1980s, my hero is Roger Ebert. The man was already the best critic in the nation when he won the Pulitzer in 1975, but his indomitable spirit during and after his recent battle with cancer keeps me coming back to read not only his reviews but his insightful commentary on the everyday. But enough about a guy you know a lot about. I knew I was going to be a film critic—some would say a snob—in middle school, when I had to voraciously defend my position that The Royal Tenenbaums was only a million times better than Adam Sandler’s remake of Mr. Deeds. From then on, I would seek out Wes Anderson’s films and avoid Sandler’s like the plague. Still, I like to think of myself as a populist, and I’ll be just as likely to see the next superhero movie as the next Sundance sensation. The thing I most deplore in a movie is laziness. I’d much rather see movies with big ambitions try and fail than movies with no ambitions succeed at simply existing. I’m also a big advocate of fun-bad movies like The Room and most of Nicolas Cage’s work. In the past, I’ve written for The Dallas Morning News and the North Texas Daily, which I edited for a semester. I also contributed to Dallas-based Pegasus News, which in the circle of life, is now part of The Dallas Morning News, where I got my big break in 2007. Eventually, I’d love to write and talk about film full-time, but until that’s a viable career option, I work as an auditor for Wells Fargo. I hope to one day meet my hero, go to the Toronto International Film Festival, and compete on Jeopardy. Until then, I’m excited to share my love of film with you.