Inventive, prolific young director who began receiving international recognition in the late 1980s. Kaurismäki's output has ranged from wacky, comic-book style adventures (Calamari Union, 1985, Leningrad Cowboys Go America, 1989) to revisionist adaptations of literary classics (Crime and Punishment, 1983, Hamlet Goes Business, 1987), and he has proved himself adept at combining gritty, noir-ish realism with sly, sardonic humor (Ariel, 1988). With his brother Mika (Rosso, 1985, Helsinki Napoli All Night Long, 1988), and other directors including Pekka Parikka (Plainlands, 1988, The Winter War, 1989), Kaurismäki is at the forefront of a burgeoning new wave of Finnish cinema.