Lights in the Dusk (Laitakaupungin valot)

"Lights in the Dusk" concludes the trilogy began by "Drifting Clouds" and "The Man Without a Past". Where the trilogy's first film was about unemployment and the second about homelessness, this final installment is about loneliness. Koistinen searches the hard world for a small crack to crawl in through, but both his fellow beings and the faceless apparatus of the society conspire to crush his modest hopes, one after another. Criminal elements exploit his longing for love and his position as a night watchman in a robbery they pull off, leaving Koistinen to face the consequences. Thus Koistinen is deprived of his job, his freedom, and his dreams. A poignant reminder of the lot of the emotional 'have-nots' in our world, this dark jewel of a film glows with genuine warmth and a small but enriching glimmer of hope.