FREE ON CINEGEEK.DE FINNISH INDEPENDENCE DAY MIka Kaurismäki - L.A. Without A Map 

Mika Kaurismäki, the Finn in exile. Obviously he produces his films where it is sunny and no longer in the far north. But L.A. Without A Map has also become a bit Finnish. Richard (David Tennant) is a funeral director (but above all a writer!) and has lived his whole life in the same place in Scotland. One day he meets her, Barbara (Vinessa Shaw), an actress from L.A.. She is the love of his life. After a day together, he travels to America after her. But Barbara reacts as any woman would if the Scottish funeral director suddenly appeared in her cafe. Of course, Barbara is a waitress for now. The nasty producer Patterson (Cameron Bancroft) is supposed to judge her acting career. Mika Kaurismäki's romantic comedy, however, is particularly appealing because of the details and they begin with the cast: we see Vincent Gallo as Richard's best friend, the Leningrad cowboys as energetic support, Julie Delpy as Barbara's girlfriend, Johnny Depp, Joe Dallesandro, Monte Hellman, Jerzy Skolimowski or Amanda Plummer. Meanwhile Richard mutates into an "American" until he learns that he just has to be Richard (nobody less than Johnny Depp teaches him that)! Hollywood from the perspective of a European. Mika Kurismäki collects clichés to decorate his love story. The fact that Barbara is a rather uncharming bitch hardly matters any more... In the end not everything was right in Kaurismäki's film and yet I liked him. I even watched it again!