Aki Kaurismäki's professional journey began with a diverse array of occupations, including stints as a postman, dish-washer, and film critic. This eclectic background ultimately led him to establish his own production and distribution company, Villealfa, in collaboration with his older brother Mika Kaurismäki, a fellow filmmaker.
The Kaurismäki brothers have been instrumental in shaping the Finnish film industry, with their combined output accounting for one-fifth of the total films produced in the country since the early 1980s. While both brothers have achieved significant success, Aki's work has garnered more international recognition.
Aki Kaurismäki's films are characterized by their brevity, with a self-imposed 90-minute limit, and often feature lugubrious, hard-drinking Finnish characters. His eccentric parodies of various genres, such as road movies, film noir, and rock musicals, are set to eclectic soundtracks often inspired by 1950s rock 'n' roll.
During the 1990s, Aki Kaurismäki ventured outside of Finland, directing films in Britain (I Hired a Contract Killer, 1990) and France (The Bohemian Life, 1992).
