I first came across Aki Kaurismäki’s work when I saw “The Man without a Past” back in 2002 and I really liked it and I had high hopes for “Drifting Clouds” (1996), which is one of his earlier works. After watching it recently, I was a little dissapointed I must admit. It emanates a certain crudeness that makes it difficult to immerse yourself in the story even more so since the English subtitles are awkward at times and distract from the characters original dialogue.
Aki’s movies have often been described as being minimalistic. The mis en scene in “Drifting Clouds” mirrors a time of recession in Finnland, with highly saturated colors reminiscent of ’50s Technicolor and lots of shades of blue (as is the case in “Man without a Past”). The colors and the absence of warmth make the sets appear void of happiness and in a way resemble the desolate inner state of the characters. We do not get to see much if any emotions from the characters themselves and the acting could be considered almost clinically sterile.