98 % of Nokia is ownership of American funds

In the last film of Aki Kaurismäki, "Lights in the Dusk" - third part of a trilogy begun by “Drifting Clouds” (Kauas pilvet karkaavat, 1996) and “The Man Without a Past” (Mies vailla menneisyyttä, 2002), the first about unemployment and the second about homelessness - the actor Janne Hyytiäinen plays the role of Koistinen, a lonely night watchman, who meets an attractive woman (Maria Järvenhelmi in her role). Being deceived by a group of criminals, he loses his freedom, job and his dream of becoming a small enterpreuner , being convicted of a crime he did not commit.

Koistinen is a common man, who tries to improve his position in a world with scarce opportunities, but who sees the most powerful denying him this wish.

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Last November, in an interview with the Portuguese newspaper JN - which you can read entire through this link (in portuguese) - the Finnish film director Aki Kaurismäki answered to some questions: [9]

How to define the character of Koistinen? Many critics called him " looser" or "poor devil". But isn’t he, principally, a naive and decent man who believes in a good world?

And it’s hard to be (laughter). He’s a fighter, it’s difficult to beat him. He wants to do something useful and good in his life, improve his condition. It’s like a character of Buster Keaton, in this aspect. The more he’s beaten , the more strength he has to get up. But he has no luck.

In the same interview, he answers to a question related to the multinational Nokia:

Your films have a realistic framework, but on the other hand they contradict it. No cars, modern technology ... Do you consider yourself a “realistic" cineast?

As for the cars, I’m the last romantic. The modern cars are very ugly, I hate them, I can´t show them. Even if I wanted to.

And the technology? You were born in the country of Nokia, but there are no mobile phones in your films.

98 percent of Nokia is ownership of american pension funds. I don’t like the modern times. I like the 50’s, the design of that time. And now, also the 60’s. And if live some more years, the decade of 70, despite having been the most ugly of them all.

Indeed, Nokia is a multinational with an overwhelming majority of non-Finnish shareholders, distributed by various nationalities. The most representative are the United States, Germany, United Kingdom, France and Switzerland.

The relocations are not a problem of competition between different countries or between workers of different nationalities. They are a problem of relationship between the working class and the major holders of the transnational capital. The tactic used was always the same: divide to reign within borders, now through them. And explore today to exclude tomorrow.

I wish that the new heroes, products of the unemployment caused by the capitalist globalisation, could forget the past, overcome the present and win the future, with the precious touch of a friendly hand.

This post is the third part of the full article "Koistinen"

References:

[9] Entrevista com Aki Kaurismäki, "Não gosto destes tempos", dn.sapo.pt