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ComedyDrama

Drifting Clouds

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The ever-poker-faced Ilona loses her job as a restaurant hostess, as her tram driver husband, Lauri, also finds himself out of work. Together they must hit the streets of Helsinki, facing up to hardship and humiliation in their quest for survival, guided through the gloom by a ray of hope.

Release Date : 1996-01-26

Language :FinnishSwedish

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : SputnikPyramide ProductionsPandora FilmYLE

Production Country : FinlandFranceGermany

Alternative Titles : Far Away the Clouds Escape

Cast

Kati Outinen

Character Name : Ilona

Original Name : Kati Outinen

Gender : Female

Kari Väänänen

Character Name : Lauri

Original Name : Kari Väänänen

Gender : Male

Elina Salo

Character Name : Mrs. Sjöholm

Original Name : Elina Salo

Gender : Female

Sakari Kuosmanen

Character Name : Melartin

Original Name : Sakari Kuosmanen

Gender : Male

Markku Peltola

Character Name : Lajunen

Original Name : Markku Peltola

Gender : Male

Matti Onnismaa

Character Name : Forsström

Original Name : Matti Onnismaa

Gender : Male

Shelley Fisher

Character Name : Pianist

Original Name : Shelley Fisher

Gender : Male

Markus Allan

Character Name : Orchestra Member

Original Name : Markus Allan

Gender : Male

Pauli Granfelt

Character Name : Orchestra Member

Original Name : Pauli Granfelt

Gender : Male

Kari Lindqvist

Character Name : Orchestra Member

Original Name : Kari Lindqvist

Gender : Male

Pentti Mutikainen

Character Name : Orchestra Member

Original Name : Pentti Mutikainen

Gender : Male

Tommi Parkkonen

Character Name : Orchestra Member

Original Name : Tommi Parkkonen

Gender : Male

Taisto Wesslin

Character Name : Orchestra Member

Original Name : Taisto Wesslin

Gender : Male

Tuire Liiti

Character Name : Waitress

Original Name : Tuire Liiti

Gender : Female

Kaarina Väyrynen

Character Name : Waitress

Original Name : Kaarina Väyrynen

Gender : Female

Elli Lindstedt

Character Name : Old Couple

Original Name : Elli Lindstedt

Gender : Female

Vilhelm Lindstedt

Character Name : Old Couple

Original Name : Vilhelm Lindstedt

Gender : Male

Tuire Tuomisto

Character Name : Kitchen Maid

Original Name : Tuire Tuomisto

Gender : Female

Mustafa Altin

Character Name : Amir

Original Name : Mustafa Altin

Gender : Male

Pentti Auer

Character Name : Buyer of Dubrovnik

Original Name : Pentti Auer

Gender : Male

Iisak Lusua

Character Name : Buyer of Dubrovnik

Original Name : Iisak Lusua

Gender : Male

Simo Santalahti

Character Name : Buyer of Dubrovnik

Original Name : Simo Santalahti

Gender : Male

Solmu Mäkelä

Character Name : Foreman

Original Name : Solmu Mäkelä

Gender : Male

Outi Mäenpää

Character Name : Lauri's Sister

Original Name : Outi Mäenpää

Gender : Female

Esko Nikkari

Character Name : Restaurant Manager

Original Name : Esko Nikkari

Gender : Male

Tarja Laiho

Character Name : Labour Official

Original Name : Tarja Laiho

Gender : Female

Sulevi Peltola

Character Name : Man at Nelia

Original Name : Sulevi Peltola

Gender : Male

Vesa Mäkelä

Character Name : Tax Official

Original Name : Vesa Mäkelä

Gender : Male

Tero Jartti

Character Name : Tax Official

Original Name : Tero Jartti

Gender : Male

Kaija Pakarinen

Character Name : Woman in Dressing Gown

Original Name : Kaija Pakarinen

Gender : Female

Vesa Häkli

Character Name : Ugly Man

Original Name : Vesa Häkli

Gender : Male

Antti Reini

Character Name : Ugly Man

Original Name : Antti Reini

Gender : Male

Yrjö Järvinen

Character Name : Man at Olympia

Original Name : Yrjö Järvinen

Gender : Male

Ona Kamu

Character Name : Cleaning Woman

Original Name : Ona Kamu

Gender : Female

Eero Försti

Character Name : Repossession Man

Original Name : Eero Försti

Gender : Male

Kari Nenonen

Character Name : Repossession Man

Original Name : Kari Nenonen

Gender : Male

Klaus Heydemann

Character Name : Real Estate Broker

Original Name : Klaus Heydemann

Gender : Male

Mato Valtonen

Character Name : Car Dealer

Original Name : Mato Valtonen

Gender : Male

Aarre Karén

Character Name : Bank Manager

Original Name : Aarre Karén

Gender : Male

Rose-Marie Precht

Character Name : Hairdresser

Original Name : Rose-Marie Precht

Gender : Female

Clas-Ove Bruun

Character Name : Carpenter

Original Name : Clas-Ove Bruun

Gender : Male

Silu Seppälä

Character Name : Carpenter

Original Name : Silu Seppälä

Gender : Male

Jorma Pulla

Character Name : Gilder

Original Name : Jorma Pulla

Gender : Male

Atte Blom

Character Name : First Customer

Original Name : Atte Blom

Gender : Male

Peter von Bagh

Character Name : First Customer

Original Name : Peter von Bagh

Gender : Male

Juho Grönqvist

Character Name : Garbage Man

Original Name : Juho Grönqvist

Gender : Male

Kari Järvinen

Character Name : Garbage Man

Original Name : Kari Järvinen

Gender : Male

Reviews

CRCulver

@CRCulver

2021-06-23

The Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki has made several films about the "little people" in society, hardworking folk who have a spot of bad luck and risk being overlooked by the state bureaucracy and business development schemes that are ostensibly there to help them. KAUAS PILVET KARKAAVAT from 1996 (released as "Drifting Clouds" in English-speaking markets) is one such tale of adversity. Ilona (Kati Outinen) and Lauri (Kari Väänänen) are a happy married couple. One day, Lauri loses his job as a tram driver when the cancellation of some routes makes him redundant. Soon after this Ilona, head water of a fancy restaurant, finds the restaurant bought out by new owners who don't need the old staff. We see Lauri and Ilona turned down from one job after another, facing repo men and shady characters taking advantage of their desperation for work, yet in many respects the film is a comedy. Kaurismäki's humour is extremely deadpan, at some points perhaps too subtle for audiences outside Finland, but it's still generally fun and there are some laugh-out-loud moments. The film has a strong magical realist feel. Part of this is that the film is ostensibly set during the present day, but the characters and many of the interior sets seem to have stepped out of the 1950s. This is a key feature of Kaurismäki's aesthetic and found throughout his work. But also Ilona and Lauri's insistence on making it on their own, without accepting unemployment money from the state, is plausible but somehow not the expected course of events in 1990s Finland. Kaurismäki was to emphasize distrust of the welfare state in his later film MIES VAILLA MENESYYTTA (Man Without a Past), but there he was too heavy-handed in his criticism, while here there's more a tone of quiet nobility than bitterness. While the happy ending is too much of a deus ex machina, I greatly enjoyed KAUAS PILVET KARKAAVAT. What really drives the film is the quirky face of Kati Outinen, who in spite of all her defeats rolls with the punches and whose eyes maintain boundless optimism, like an adorable stray puppy. Kaurismäki demands deadpan acting, and Outinen has always acted in his films with a deliberately limited range of expression, but one really appreciates how she discovers subtle degrees of deadpanness: her Ilona is vastly different than, say, her role in Kaurismäki's VARJOJA PARATIIISISSA of a few years before. The performance by Markku Peltola as a drunken cook is also memorable. Finally, the film's colour palette is striking, showing a new maturity in design from the already veteran director.