CNET Networks Entertainment GameSpot | GameFAQs | SportsGamer | Metacritic | MP3.com | TV.com
Home | About Metacritic | About Metascores | What's New | Wireless Versions | Discussion Forums | Advertising Inquiries | Contact Us | RSS
Metacritic.com: We Deal With Criticism
     Help
> Switch to Advanced Search  
Film Video/DVD Music Games TV

Film

Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

 

Wide Releases

sort by name sort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

 

Limited Releases

sort by name sort by score

Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

 



Printer-Friendly Version Email This Page Discuss In Our Forums

Lights in the Dusk
Strand Releasing

Lights in the Dusk reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 57 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.0 out of 10
based on 12 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 1 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: Not Rated

Starring Janne Hyytiäinen, Maria Järvenhelmi, Maria Heiskanen, Ilkka Koivula, Sergei Doudko, Andrei Gennadiev, Arturas Pozdniakovas, and Matti Onnismaa

Lights in the Dusk concludes the trilogy began by "Drifting Clouds" and "The Man Without a Past." Where the trilogy's first film was about unemployment and the second about homelessness, this final installment is about loneliness. (Strand Releasing)


GENRE(S): Drama  |  Foreign  
WRITTEN BY: Aki Kaurismäki  
DIRECTED BY: Aki Kaurismäki  
RELEASE DATE: Theatrical: June 13, 2007 
RUNNING TIME: 78 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: Finland / Germany / France 
LANGUAGE(S): Finnish / Russian (with English subtitles) 

Original title "Laitakaupungin valot"; Nominated, Golden Palm, 2006 Cannes Film Festival

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

75
TV Guide Ken Fox
It's a handsome production, and a pleasure to watch. With a shadowy palette and a set design reminiscent of Edward Hopper's nocturnes, a soundtrack hearkening back to the sounds of vintage rock 'n' roll, and a cast of characters straight out of a James M. Cain novel.
Read Full Review
75
New York Post V.A. Musetto
If you're new to Kaurismaki, the film will make you a fan. If you've seen everything else he's ever done, the comedy will confirm your commitment.
Read Full Review
75
Entertainment Weekly Lisa Schwarzbaum
There's great music, an excellent dog, and that indescribable Kaurismäki tension between misery and a cosmic joke.
Read Full Review
75
New York Daily News Elizabeth Weitzman
Kaurismaki's characteristically minimalist humor and wry empathy make brief appearances, but be warned: His Helsinki is a cold, dark place unfit for all but the hardiest visitors.
Read Full Review
67
The Onion (A.V. Club) Scott Tobias
Without Kaurismäki to introduce these lonely, forgotten souls to audiences, who's going to be his friend?
Read Full Review
67
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Kaurismäki’s spare style and economical storytelling are well-suited to this particular story about loneliness, as the director never muddies the frame with sentimental dross or lugubrious inclinations.
Read Full Review
60
Los Angeles Times Kevin Crust
There's a dry humor underlying the absurdity of Koistinen's experience. When things cannot possibly get worse, they do.
Read Full Review
50
Salon.com Andrew O'Hehir
So stylized and slow-moving (even at a spare 75 minutes) that you may have trouble adapting to its hypnotic rhythms -- but if you can, there are sumptuous visual rewards to be found, plus the faintest emotional uptick right at the end.
Read Full Review
50
Variety Leslie Felperin
Lights in the Dusk finds veteran Finnish helmer Aki Kaurismaki treading water with an amiable but very undercooked noirish fable about a security guard done wrong by a femme fatale.
Read Full Review
40
The New York Times Stephen Holden
This spare, minimalist film is not realistic. It has the simplicity of a silent movie, and the blocking of the actors, especially in the scenes with Koistinen and Mirja, emphasizes the distances between them.
Read Full Review
40
Village Voice Nathan Lee
Lights in the Dusk derives scant excitement from its melodramatic plot, which satisfies a dismal, ineluctable formula with stultifying efficiency. Nor is it enlivened by the airless performances.
Read Full Review
40
The Hollywood Reporter Kirk Honeycutt
Lights will put in more appearances at festivals before achieving a brief theatrical window for Kaurismaki devotees to gaze through. Most will do so with discouragement.
Read Full Review

What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.0 (out of 10) based on 1 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Discuss this movie in our forums

Return to top of page
Home | FILM | DVD/VIDEO | MUSIC | GAMES | TV | Forums | About Metacritic metacritic.com

Popular on CBS sites: World News | Fantasy Football | Amy Winehouse | Baseball | E3 | Batman | Firefox 3 | iPhone 3G

About CNET Networks | Jobs | Advertise

© 2008 CNET Networks, Inc., a CBS Company. All rights reserved. | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use