Black & White Western: Take Care of Your Scarf, Tatiana

I've long been a huge fan of Aki Kaurismaki, his films have always seemed to be entirely expressive of some part of culture that no one else can touch. He makes movies that are formulaic in the best sense of the term. The dead pan, the rock music, the old cars, the down and out, all of these things are staples and present themselves like old friends to the viewer. Unfortunately, most of the world does not share my zeal for Kaurismaki's work and so it isn't always easy to track down.

Recently, however, I was able to get my hands on a few more titles via the UK and I was reminded of everything that is great about Kaurismaki. Take Care of your scarf, Tatiana (1994) was particularly great, it follows a group of four road trippers around who are having a barely (or maybe hardly) enjoyable time. The plot centers around an emotionally mute coffee addict who is accompanied by an equally stone-faced mechanic/alcoholic/'rocker' on an aimless road trip. The two men pick up a pair of foreign tourists that need a ride and then proceed to act entirely indifferent towards them for the bulk of their trip. It is equally beautiful and absurd.

What is interesting about Kaurismaki's work is that the more of his films you watch the more they seem to inform each other. Like Yasujiro Ozu, the continual similarity in plots, characters, scenarios and cast, begin to blur the line of where one film ends and another begins. Though from the outside this might seem like a drawback it has the opposite effect. With both Ozu and Kaurismaki the repetition translates to a continually growing harmony in their work. All of the films are pulling in the same direction, each with their own unique inflection on a similar theme.

Below is the opening scene of Tatiana, the entire film is up on Youtube.