Kaurismaki reminds me of Jim Jarmusch, although perhaps his style is not as broad. Maybe that's why Jarmusch used one of Kaurismaki's fave actors, Matti Pellonpää (R.I.P.), as the Helsinki taxi driver in his Night on Earth. Kaurismaki tells his simple stories of simple people with a straight face (usually) but deep down there's a sense of absurdist humor running through them. Most of the characters are barely eking out an existence and often go from bad to worse, but there's usually a light at the end of the tunnel in the form of human contact and sharing, with the hope of romance even. Another thing flowing through his films is his encyclopedic musical knowledge of rock, folk, jazz and blues. The characters usually either perform their own music, go to clubs with live music or listen to the ever-present radio to get some tunes to just make their lives that much more entertaining and easier. The music in his films are often originals made for the movie, and there are also many songs in many different languages. I need to see a lot more of his films before I make a definitive list, but I'd probably rank them for now as follows:

1. The Man Without a Past
2. Ariel
3. La Havre
4. Shadows in Paradise
5. Lights in the Dusk
6. The Match Factory Girl
7. Leningrad Cowboys Go America

http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV...0,214,317_.jpg http://mmimageslarge.moviemail-onlin...he-Dusk-01.JPG