Zombie and The Ghost Train
Zombie ja Kummitusjuna (Zombie och spöktåget)
Zombie y el tren fantasma (Spanish title)
Zombie et le train fantôme (French title)
Zombie und die Geisterbahn (German title)

Finland 1991 colour 87min Marianna Films Oy, Villealfa Productions Oy

***

Drama

cast: Silu Seppälä (Zombie), Matti Pellonpää (Harri) Marjo Leinonen (Marjo), Mato Valtonen, Vieno Saaristo (mother), Juhani Niemelä (father), Kauko Laurikainen (doctor), Sakari Järvenpää, Mauri Sumén
credits: dir., edit. and script Mika Kaurismäki, prod. Mika Kaurismäki with Ali Özgentürk, DOP Olli Varja, music Mauri Sumén

Zombie plays a bass quitar, sits alone in his home and walks around the snowy streets. Something is missing in his life. The Ghost Train is a band whose music nobody has heard but they are still rich and famous. They walk around Zombie's life like death's angels.

The whole movie is Zombie's diary. This sad looking guy is writing his own destiny. If Zombie is a bit boring his friends are not. Matti Pellonpää as Harri, a famous singer and Zombie's closest friend, is one of the funniest characters in the movie. Just like in other Kaurismäki movies, the humour is a bit twisted and not so easy to see at first. However, this movie is not a comedy but more like a tragedy with a grin. It won three Jussi prizes (Finnish Oscars), one for the best actor (Silu Seppälä).

TRIVIA: Matti Pellonpää sings himself in the movie.

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