Good but not great, Kaurismaki does ‘60s period drama with his brand of droll comedy as two Finnish men on a test drive encounter two female ‘comrades’ (a Russian and an Estonian) in need of a ride to the harbour. 

A disappointment from Kaurismaki in this way too simplistic and monotonous tribute to silent era filmmaking about a young and naïve wife of a farmer husband who is lured away by a rich old man promising a better life. 

Kaurismaki adapts Shakespeare for the dog-eat-dog world of industrialising Finland with this decent black-and-white revenge noir filled with moments of absurdist humour and conniving tactics. 

Kaurismaki’s style remains unmistakable, but this isn’t a particularly edifying effort as two affection-shy strangers elusively seek romance and companionship in lonely Helsinki.

Kaurismaki’s confident first solo feature already contains the hallmarks of his sober, deadpan style, in the guise of a loose adaptation of Dostoevsky’s famous text.

The second film of Kaurismäki’s ‘Finland’ trilogy could be one of his most mature works, achieving a fine balance between the driest of humour and the most encompassing of compassion.