Spotlight on Aki Kaurismäki: La Vie de Bohème

The delectably sardonic and bittersweet films of Finnish writer-director Aki Kaurismäki remain seldom seen in the United States (with the exception of his Oscar-nominated 2002 film The Man Without a Past). Working with a loyal company of actors, Kaurismäki’s films are equal parts Beckettian comedy, kitchen-sink melodrama, and inebriated Nouvelle Vague lyricism. Precise, witty, and ultimately poignant, his low-key portraits of working-class life buzz to a rockabilly swagger while maintaining a poker-faced decorum.

Kaurismäki’s acerbic take on La Vie de Bohème is comedy-drama so deadpan that it verges on the cadaverous. Three itinerant artists—an Albanian painter, a French poet, and an Irish composer—elbow, charm, and cajole their way through the streets of Paris as they struggle to maintain a modest standard of living and practice their crafts. The lovely Le Havre, Kaurismäki’s newest film, is a de facto sequel to La Vie de Bohème that follows one of its protagonists nearly twenty years later and expands on the theme of creating a community. If Le Havre is an opera, then La Vie de Bohème is its oddly emotional overture.

Bing Theater |  FAQs

$10 for the general public, $7 for LACMA members, seniors (62+), and students with valid ID | Tickets available Thursday, November 17 at 5 pm

$5 for Film Independent, LACMA Film Club, and New York Times Film Club members | Pre-sale tickets available Thursday, November 10 at 5 pm | Members of these groups will be required to show proof of membership when retrieving their tickets | Tickets: 323 857-6010 or purchase online.