Storyline

Only connect. In gray, class-conscious Helsinki, Nikander is a stoic, solitary garbage man. Cigarettes, coffee, bingo games, and English lessons border his circumscribed life. There are few words, no smiles, and no laughter. Violence and the threat of violence seem close at hand. Ilona, a supermarket clerk who frequently loses her job, bandages Nikander's hand one evening; later he gets her out of a jam, and they begin an on-again off-again relationship. "Why do I keep losing?," Nikander asks his co-worker, Melartin, a man Nikander met in jail and helped get a job. Can he break his losing streak?—

Plot Keywords

garbage collector, cashier, love interest, boss, woman, best friend, dark, touching, gritty, offbeat, motel, grocery store, truck, countryside, helsinki, finland, theft, unemployment, disillusionment, death, working class, dating, love, rise, escape, 1980s

Short Review

Gives the stale conventions of the rom com the dark flipside they need, while downsizing that genre's normally bourgeois sensibilities into a class all its own.

Trailer

Streaming Service

1. Amazon Video : Rent from $1.99, Or $0.00 with a Prime membership