Aedonerre I gave this film a 9 out of 10, because it was exactly what I expected it to be.

Casey Duggan It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Brennan Camacho Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Christopher Culver The Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki has made several films about the "little people" in society, hardworking folk who have a spot of bad luck and risk being overlooked by the state bureaucracy and business development schemes that are ostensibly there to help them. KAUAS PILVET KARKAAVAT from 1996 (released as "Drifting Clouds" in English-speaking markets) is one such tale of adversity. Ilona (Kati Outinen) and Lauri (Kari Väänänen) are a happy married couple. One day, Lauri loses his job as a tram driver when the cancellation of some routes makes him redundant. Soon after this Ilona, head water of a fancy restaurant, finds the restaurant bought out by new owners who don't need the old staff. We see Lauri and Ilona turned down from one job after another, facing repo men and shady characters taking advantage of their desperation for work, yet in many respects the film is a comedy. Kaurismäki's humour is extremely deadpan, at some points perhaps too subtle for audiences outside Finland, but it's still generally fun and there are some laugh-out-loud moments.The film has a strong magical realist feel. Part of this is that the film is ostensibly set during the present day, but the characters and many of the interior sets seem to have stepped out of the 1950s. This is a key feature of Kaurismäki's aesthetic and found throughout his work. But also Ilona and Lauri's insistence on making it on their own, without accepting unemployment money from the state, is plausible but somehow not the expected course of events in 1990s Finland. Kaurismäki was to emphasize distrust of the welfare state in his later film MIES VAILLA MENESYYTTA (Man Without a Past), but there he was too heavy-handed in his criticism, while here there's more a tone of quiet nobility than bitterness.While the happy ending is too much of a deus ex machina, I greatly enjoyed KAUAS PILVET KARKAAVAT. What really drives the film is the quirky face of Kati Outinen, who in spite of all her defeats rolls with the punches and whose eyes maintain boundless optimism, like an adorable stray puppy. Kaurismäki demands deadpan acting, and Outinen has always acted in his films with a deliberately limited range of expression, but one really appreciates how she discovers subtle degrees of deadpanness: her Ilona is vastly different from, say, her role in Kaurismäki's VARJOJA PARATIIISISSA of a few years before. The performance by Markku Peltola as a drunken cook is also memorable. Finally, the film's colour palette is striking, showing a new maturity in design from the already veteran director.

unkka Celebration for unacting! If you like movies where less is saying more - this is your movie. The wonderful positive attitude of people in difficult situations is something to learn from. Kati Outinen is great - again. She suits this movie perfectly. Kari Väänänen as her husband is the perfect Finnish hard working man whose life isn't a struggle but an art-form it self. Also Markku Peltola as a cook gives once again a memorable performance. The music moves the scenes into another level. Finnish melancholic tango in this environment makes almost a conflict between the things happening in the screen and the music. What a wonderful tribute to Matti Pellonpää.

slake09 I particularly liked Man Without A Past, by the same director, and this is much in the same vein. A couple having financial difficulties tries to make their way. Sounds like all of us. Only this couple delivers delicious witty dialogue in a deadpan style that cracks me up every time. Even their fights and make ups are so understated that it's a style all it's own. Don't look for the obvious here, it's hidden under a layer of Finnish humor so opaque that you have to watch very closely to see even a glimmer of laughter in anyone's eye.The film is gloomy, depressing, bleak, but somehow it does your heart good. Even when things seem to be at their worst, you can't help but feel that the hardworking and honest couple will manage to somehow get back on solid ground and right with the world. You want them to. You need them to. They simply must, or your poor little heart will break.It's hard to describe this film because nothing much seems to happen, there are only the normal setbacks of life in the low income zone, but by the end you realize that you've seen a great movie and are happy with it. What helps keep you interested are the dialogue and the understated style. For example, why do all the men wear their hair the same way? Does anyone own clothes that aren't drab? Why does all the furniture look like it's from the 1950's? All these questions and more will occur to you while watching the film and wondering if anyone will ever crack a smile.

Rislakki Kauas Pilvet Karkaavat (Drifting Clouds) is a moving film about two unemployed folks in Finland. This film is one of the best Finnish films there is. Finnish films aren't very good, though.There isn't enough real emotions in the movie. I can understand why it won the best foreign film award in Belgium. I just don't like the Finnish style of movie-making. Still, it is very enjoyable.